The Destruction of Despayre was a cataclysmic event that occurred in 0 BBY, following the attack on the first Death Star. The prison planet Despayre was the final construction site of the first Death Star, where assembly of the space station's superlaser took place. After discovery of the site by the Alliance to Restore the Republic, the project's leader, Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, decided to move the station. The interior was near completion and the hyperdrive was functional, but the Grand Moff decided it was necessary to test the superlaser before getting under way. A proper test firing required a terrestrial world, and the penal colony was the only suitable location in sublight range. Tarkin decided without hesitation to sacrifice Despayre, and a few days before the Battle of Yavin, the