The Death Star was a moon-sized Imperial military battlestation armed with a planet-destroying superlaser. The Death Stars were the first in a long series of superweapons developed to execute the Tarkin Doctrine, but whose concept had been explored even before the Clone Wars. The Death Star was designed to allow Emperor Palpatine to more directly control the Galactic Empire through fear. In most instances, a Death Star was to be commanded by a Moff.
