DS build rate bug- possible solution

[The Grim Squeaker]

Having recently watched ROTJ, I had a idea for the problem of the time it took to build the death star from ROTS to ANH:

Could it be that the "Ultimate weapon" seen at the end of ROTS was actually the Death star 2 under construction? .
It might be that the emperor also became impatient half way through with advances in weapon technology allowing the construction of the DS1 far faster with some cutbacks (such as a necessary emergency vent for radiation ) and decided to simply build the ds1, and decided to do so after withdrawing crews from the ds2.
However after the destruction of the ds1 then the weakness in the design would need to be removed in the ds2 (which would allready be built partially up to that point) as well as Palpatine wanting the superlaser to be retrofitted to allow greater targetting then the DS2 could be completed.

So, is this a decent explanation for the 20 years to finish ds1 (150 km), 3 years to completely build the ds2 (900km, better design, more weaponry, better power efficiency and an improved laser) brainbug? or is there some bit of eu or lucas level canon contradicting it?

[apocolypse]

Wouldn't the opening crawl of RotJ run against this? "Little does Luke know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star."

I don't see how you can secretly begin building something that you already started building 20 years ago. It sounds a little too far-fetched imo. Further, I honestly don't see much wrong with the way it is now, 20 years or so for the DS1, and only a few for the second. I've seen many useful explanations for it.

[Noble Ire]

Wouldn't the opening crawl of RotJ run against this? "Little does Luke know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star."

I don't see how you can secretly begin building something that you already started building 20 years ago. It sounds a little too far-fetched imo. Further, I honestly don't see much wrong with the way it is now, 20 years or so for the DS1, and only a few for the second. I've seen many useful explanations for it.

In addition to that, isn't the "Great Weapon" seen in RotS different structurally from the DS2? I seem to recall it was a completed orb, unlike the latter station in its stage of construction. I suppose it could have been partially disassembled, but other explanations make far more sense.

[Ender]

I think the best explanation is the canon one - that the thing in ROTS is the Great Weapon and not one of the Death Stars. Particularily seeing as how its shape and size doesn't match either of them.

[wilfulton]

Because for the first 20 years, Emperor Palpatine was still playing the political shenanigans with the Imperial senate. It's the parable of the frog, if you throw a frog in boiling water, he'll jump out, if you leave him in cool water and slowly heat it to boiling, he'll stay in and cook.

In short, he had to keep the senate happy for those 20 years, prove to them that he really was doing what was in the best interests of the Empire, not just building a big super weapon to satisfy his own lust for power.

So for the first 20 years, Palpatine was more preoccupied with political maneuvering, once he had dissolved the Imperial senate, and now had total authority, he didn't have to worry about interference from the bureaucracy over cost-benefit analysis, and could simply build his new toy.

Say maybe the DSI with a modest building schedule could have been completed in 1 year, add bureaucracy to the equation, it could easily take 20.

From a political standpoint, it probably does make sense.

[Aquatain]

Maybe the DS-like thing seen under construction in RotS was just a testbed of some sort.

[18-Till-I-Die]

In Real-Life: It's obvious, that Lucas intended that the Death Star at the end of ROTS was to be the DS1 from ANH. Now come on, this is the man who accidentally created a weapon that produces more energy than a star afterall. Obviously it's the DS1, there would be no other logical reason for him to put something that looked like a Death Star in AOTC and ROTS unless it was a referrence to the original films.

In the Movie: Palpatine had to build the first Death Star under the chafing control of a still strong Senate. This he had to do this in total secret, and most likely with rather miniscule resources at his command. By the time number two was built, no such problem, so much more impressive resources could be allocated to the project.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Maybe the DS-like thing seen under construction in RotS was just a testbed of some sort.

It's the Confederacy's incomplete Great Weapon. There is no need for any other speculation or hypothesis stating otherwise.

[KhyronTheBackstabber]

The way I see it, what we saw at the end of RotS was the Death Star Prototype.
As for the time it took to build the first DS vs. the DSII...I'm not an engineer, but I would suspect building a core that can power all the internal systems, all the turbo lasers, shields, and a Super Laser that can obliterate a planet. Plus, develop, and powering ion engines, and hyperdrive, powerful enough too move it around, had to be a nightmare. It's gonna take time to make these things, and when they made the DSII the ground work had already been laid.

[LMSx]

Maybe the DS-like thing seen under construction in RotS was just a testbed of some sort.

It's the Confederacy's incomplete Great Weapon. There is no need for any other speculation or hypothesis stating otherwise.

Which books was the backstory of said Great Weapon explained in? I have yet to read the novelization.