NASA Engineer Offers Tips On How To Build A Death Star

It would be easier to start with an asteroid

(Mirror Daily, United States) – It may come in handy one day, so a NASA engineer offers tips on how to build a Death Star, the beautifully terrifying structure in the Star Wars series. It’s an iconic piece of sci-fi history, and one of the most impressive sights of the franchise. It’s safe to say that there are few out there who would not recognize it, even if they’re not Star Wars fans.

With the upcoming ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ premiere set from precisely one week from today, it’s not farfetched to say that the hype is growing. Fans of the franchise are buzzing with excitement and hope that they will not be disappointed. Perhaps there is a chance for Star Wars to bloom again, starting with J.J. Abrams’ movie.

And, naturally, with the release date drawing nearer, talk about anything surrounding Star Wars is growing exponentially as well. The Death Star has been the focus of a NASA engineer, particularly Brian Muirhead. He is the chief engineer of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), so we can start from the safe assumption that he knows what he’s talking about. According to Muirhead though, the Empire might’ve done it wrong.

Instead of bring over materials to space, the engineer stated that it would’ve been easier to build the Death Star from an existing asteroid. It has all the materials there, including water, metals, and organic compounds. From there, all that would be needed was a bit of polishing, add a bunch of Stormtroopers, and there you have it. Not exactly, but sort of.

It would apparently be much easier to use an existing body in space to build with it, instead of transporting materials into outer space. The massive asteroid could be the starting foundation. In theory, it could make sense.

Muirhead is also in charge of NASA’s Asteroid Redirect Mission, which will imply taking an asteroid and bringing it into the moon’s orbit for mining and research. This plan will reportedly be set in motion around 2025, though there are no confirmed reports of this coming even close to a Death Star. It would be endlessly interesting, though not quite as spectacular.

It would be an exceptional field to be explored by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency), along with private companies such as SpaceX and Orbital ATK.

However, that is a decade away, so most of the outer space excitement would be directed toward the upcoming seventh installment of the Star Wars franchise. Who knows, perhaps Muirhead may be hinting at future plot points of the movies, a Death Star 2.0, which, according to the engineer, should involve an asteroid.

And, this goes without saying, don’t put the one ‘destroy button’ in the form of a vulnerable vent right on top of it. Though from all we know that could’ve been the architect’s mistake.

Image source: space.news

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John Birks

John holds a diploma in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He covers the technology, social media, green business, eco-travel, politics, arts culture.