The Empire evidently had a military budget that would have Bush reaching for that red button. But a satellite, moon-sized warship is a jolly big target that requires some serious back-up, and a big laser always does the job nicely. A super laser backed up by 10,000 turbo laser batteries, 700 tractor beam projectors and allegedly enough ships to occupy the galaxy. The skeleton crew alone was nearly 500,000, and did we mention that the Death Star could destroy entire planets, regardless of shielding, in a single shot?