[net.sf-lovers] levitating Death Stars / adopted Princesses

Heiny.Henr@PARC-MAXC.ARPA (06/10/83)

"The Death Star was obviously Endor-stationary because it had to sit
within the stationary beam of the force field station.  I suspect that
it was "levitated" by the force field; that means that they didn't have
to blow it up, it would just have crashed on the planet surface when the
force field was destroyed!"

Not if the levitation machinery were part of the construction equipment
on the Death Star!  I would imagine that most (if not all) large space
going vehicles (star destroyers, death stars, etc.) are constructed in a
low geostationary orbit simply as a matter of convienence (and safety,
seeing as Imperial material likes to explode).  Basing the levitation
machinery on the thing being constructed would both reduce crowding on
the ground and make it easier to move the object under construction.
The force field would be a hack of the standard ground installation
defense field (like the Rebel base had on what-ever-that-ice-planet-was
in TESB), specially cobbled together for this occasion.

Princess Leia could have acquired her title through adoption.  Most
ancient Earthling royal (and less so) traditions/laws considered
adoption to put the adoptee on the same legal grounds as a natural
child.  This led to a lot of strange relationships in ancient Rome, for
example.

					Chris