I’ve always been curious about how long the Death Star was actually operational after its construction — from when it was finally completed (after nearly two decades to when it was destroyed at Yavin. Digging through Canon sources, maps, and a super detailed blog (which I’ll mention below), I finally can state that the answer is surprisingly short — and it makes sense when you look at how hyperspace really works in Star Wars.
tion below), I think we can say the answer is surprisingly short — and it makes sense when you look at how hyperspace really works in Star Wars.
Let me walk you through what I found.
Table of Contents
First, How Hyperspace Speed Actually Works
If you’re not familiar, Star Wars ships use hyperdrives to cross huge distances across the galaxy. Ships are rated by Hyperdrive Class — and here’s the basic idea:
- Lower class number = faster hyperdrive
(ex: Class 0.5 is twice as fast as Class 1) - Higher class number = slower hyperdrive
(ex: Class 4 takes 4 times longer than Class 1)
Some examples:
- Millennium Falcon → Class 0.5 (super fast)
- Star Destroyers → Class 2
- First Death Star → Class 4 (very slow)
This system is officially explained on Wookieepedia, and it’s important because the Death Star was using a Class 4 hyperdrive during this period — not some magic Class 1 like some movies imply.
What Speed Are We Actually Using Here?
Now, this is where a fantastic blog called Tierfon Campaign comes in. The author there analyzed tons of OT travel scenes and examples, and came up with an estimate that works perfectly with A New Hope’s pacing:
→ Class 1 ≈ 5700 light-years per hour
Why is this so important? Because if you look at Vader’s line on the Death Star after destroying Alderaan:
“This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi; it will soon see the end of the Rebellion.”
That line suggests the Death Star reaches Yavin later the same day, not in 2 hours, and not in 3 days.
So with 5700 ly/hr:
- Alderaan → Yavin (~28,000–30,000 ly) → about ~20 hours at Class 4 speed (~1425 ly/hr).
- That gives the Rebels ~17–20 hours — exactly the amount of time the movie scenes show: planning, reacting, prepping the fighters.
That’s why I’m using 5700 ly/hr as the Class 1 baseline here — it just fits the movie perfectly, and that blog explains it better than anything else I’ve seen.
This means the Death Star I was moving at roughly ~1425 ly/hr (class 4 hypderdrive).
Estimating the Distances
For the distances between key locations, I based my estimates on the official Star Wars galaxy map, using a grid-scaling method similar to the one used in the Tierfon Campaign blog. I’m not going to show the full grid math here (it gets a little messy), but the approach was consistent across all routes.
The Tierfon blog gives us a solid starting point with Scarif → Jedha ≈ 63,000 light-years — so I used that as the baseline to estimate the other legs proportionally:
- Scarif → Jedha ≈ ~63,000 light-years (from the Tierfon blog baseline)
- Jedha → Alderaan ≈ ~85,000–90,000 light-years (estimated by grid scaling vs. the baseline)
- Alderaan → Yavin ≈ ~28,000–30,000 light-years (estimated by grid scaling vs. the baseline)
These numbers are close estimates, not strict straight-line jumps, since hyperspace routes rarely allow perfectly direct travel. But they fit what we see on the official map and align well with the timing in the films.
Timeline Breakdown: What Likely Happened
1. Scarif Battle and Death Star Jump to Jedha
After the Battle of Scarif, the Death Star likely made a brief jump back to Jedha’s ruins for Tarkin’s observation moment. That trip (~63k ly) at Class 4 (~1425 ly/hr) would’ve taken ~44 hours.
2. Jump from Jedha to Alderaan
Then, the Death Star jumps to Alderaan (~85k–90k ly). Again, using Class 4 speed, that would take roughly 60–63 hours, about 2.5 days.
3. Alderaan Destroyed, Immediate Jump to Yavin
After blowing up Alderaan, the Death Star jumps toward Yavin (~28k–30k ly). This trip at Class 4 (~1425 ly/hr) would take ~20 hours.
That’s why Vader’s line works: the events between Alderaan’s destruction and the Battle of Yavin all happen within about a single day of time.
How Long Is the Total Timeline?
If you add this all up:
- Scarif to Jedha → ~44 hours (~1.8 days)
- Jedha to Alderaan → ~60–63 hours (~2.5 days)
- Alderaan to Yavin → ~20 hours (~0.8 days)
From the Scarif battle to the Battle of Yavin → about 4–5 days total.
But specifically, from Alderaan’s destruction to the Battle of Yavin, it’s roughly less than 1 full day (~20 hours) — which is why the movie feels so urgent.
TL;DR
- I used 5700 ly/hr Class 1 hyperdrive speed from the Tierfon Campaign blog — it fits the pacing of the OT perfectly and explains Vader’s “this day” line.
- Death Star used a slow Class 4 hyperdrive → ~1425 ly/hr.
- Based on map distances:
- Scarif → Jedha (~63k ly) → ~44 hours (~2 days)
- Jedha → Alderaan (~85k–90k ly) → ~60–63 hours (~2.5 days)
- Alderaan → Yavin (~28k–30k ly) → ~20 hours (~1 day)
- Total timeline from Scarif to Yavin → about 4–5 days max.t
- Timeline from Alderaan’s destruction to the Battle of Yavin → about ~20 hours, fitting perfectly with Vader’s “this day” line.
So yes — the Empire spent 20 years building the Death Star, and it operated for less than a week before it was blown to bits.