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weapon - Could you destroy the Death Star by having a ship come out of hyperspace in the middle of it?



So the Death Star is huge, right? Would it be possible to coordinate a hyperdrive to come out of hyperspace in the middle of the Death Star?


Maybe a small ship wouldn't be enough to destroy it, but let's say it was something the size of the Home One? Or maybe some sort of crazy explosive device inside a smaller ship.


As for the pilot, I'm thinking maybe it could be done by remote control? Or a kamikaze pilot willing to sacrifice himself to take out the Empire's worst weapon. But I like remote control better.


Could this plan work? And whether yes or no, why?


To clarify, I may not be understanding hyperspace correctly, but I'm not talking about crashing into it from the outside. I am suggesting you exit hyperspace so that you appear in the middle of the Death Star.


Related: What happens if two ships come out of hyperspace at the exact same time and place?



Answer



The (canon) Star Wars novel Tarkin would suggest that a capital ship reverting to realspace near to a large static body could do very severe damage.



Despite being crewed by sentients, the mysterious cruiser hadn’t discharged any of its point-defense or ranged weapons. If destruction of the base was the goal, why hadn’t whoever was behind the attack used the ship as a bomb by reverting from hyperspace in closer proximity to the moon? Planetary bodies larger than Sentinel had been shaken to their core by such events.




Note that hitting a large object within hyperspace or reverting inside it isn't really an option. Planetary gravity fields (and those generated by large space stations) are sufficient to drag a ship out of hyperspace. At best you could hit it at high speed.




That all being said, the Death Star has a large and highly efficient shield. It isn't until considerable damage is done to the core (and presumably the shield generator loses power) that it becomes vulnerable to a physical impact so unless you expect to find the shield down, ploughing into it at any speed is pretty worthless.


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