This is one of those Star Wars questions that pops up all the time — and for good reason. The first Death Star took something like 20 years to build, and then a few years later in Return of the Jedi, the Empire already has another one nearly ready to fire. How’d they pull that off?
Well, turns out the timeline is tighter than you might think. And now, thanks to Starships and Speeders, we have a pretty clear answer. Let’s break it down.
Table of Contents
They Started Building It Almost Immediately After Yavin
According to the RPG sourcebook Starships and Speeders (specifically the DS-2 Death Star entry), construction on the second Death Star began within a year after the first one blew up at the Battle of Yavin.
Palpatine wasted no time. After the destruction of his prized weapon, he didn’t just want revenge — he wanted an even bigger symbol of power and fear. And this time, he wasn’t hiding it from the Senate, the military, or even the Rebels for long.
From the source directly:
“Construction of the Death Star II began within a year of the Battle of Yavin, and much of it has been fast-tracked.”
So yeah — it wasn’t built overnight, but the Empire kicked it into overdrive from day one.
Why It Was So Much Faster Than the First One
Here’s the thing: the first Death Star was more than just a construction job. It was a decades-long R&D nightmare.
You had Galen Erso delaying the superlaser’s development from the inside, secret plans, experimental tech, political infighting (Tarkin vs. Krennic), and a constant need for secrecy since the Senate was still active. That’s why it took nearly 20 years.
With Death Star II? None of that.
By 0 BBY, Palpatine was in full control. No Senate. No delays. No sabotage. The Empire already knew what materials they needed, where to get kyber crystals, how to build the superlaser, and how to coordinate labor forces. It was all streamlined.
And this time around, they also fixed the exhaust port problem. Instead of a single thermal weakness, they installed millions of millimeter-wide dispersion vents, impossible to hit with torpedoes. No more trench runs.
A Dozen Planets Were Stripped for Materials
The Death Star II was absolutely massive — about 200 kilometers in diameter, dwarfing the first one. To pull that off quickly, the Empire started stripping entire planets bare. The DS-2 entry mentions:
“A dozen worlds are being stripped bare, and materials are being transported along a secret hyperlane to the construction site in the Endor system.”
That means the Empire was running a massive supply chain operation just to feed this one project. Planets like Alprezar, Karthon, and Ghorman were mined for metals, components, and anything else needed to keep progress moving.
It Was Held Together by Shields and Gravity Tricks
If you’re wondering how they got this massive thing to just hang there above Endor while it was still being built, they didn’t just let it float. The station was kept in orbit using a repulsorlift field and a planetary shield projected from Endor’s surface.
It wasn’t easy, though. The shield required so much energy it actually started damaging the moon, causing groundquakes and ecological collapse. But Palpatine didn’t care. He only needed it to hold together long enough to bait the Rebels into a trap.
It Was Meant for the Rebels to Discover
This might be my favorite part. A few Canon sources and the Starships and Speeders book outright say:
“A few officials have observed that there are exploitable holes in the project’s secrecy… it’s almost as if the Emperor wants the Rebels to find out about the station.”
And that’s exactly what happened.
Palpatine leaked the location to the Bothans on purpose, making it look like the station was incomplete and vulnerable. That brought the entire Rebel fleet straight into his trap.
Only problem? It didn’t work.
TL;DR Timeline
Let’s sum it all up real quick:
- 0 BBY: First Death Star destroyed at Yavin.
- ~1 ABY: Construction on Death Star II begins in the Endor system.
- 2–3 ABY: Reactor core and superlaser finished first; rest of the superstructure still ongoing.
- 4 ABY: Battle of Endor — superlaser operational, shield in place, outer shell incomplete.
- Death Star II destroyed by Rebel Alliance during a full-scale assault.
Final Thoughts
So yeah, Death Star II was built way faster — not because it was easier, but because the Empire had already solved all the hard problems. It was streamlined, brutal, and purpose-built not just to destroy planets, but to trap the Rebellion and end the war in one shot.
Of course, it didn’t go that way. But that’s another story.
Let me know if you want a companion piece on how the Rebels found out, or why Palpatine thought building another moon-sized weapon was still a good idea. Always down to nerd out.