One of the biggest mysteries of the originalStar Wars, which was later retitledA New Hope, is how Darth Vader was able to track Princess Leia’s ship to Tatooine. The firstStar Warsmoviebegins with a scene of Darth Vader boarding Leia Organa’s ship, theTantive IV. That boarding sequence was one of the most iconic moments inStar Wars, and in science fiction in general. It introduced one of the best villains in cinema through Vader, and it also set into motion everything from the discovery of one of themost powerful Jedi of all timeto the downfall of the Empire.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Storywould revisit theTantive IValmost 40 years later, and earlier intheStar Warstimeline.Rogue Oneprovided quite a bit of context for Leia’s capture, from explaining how Vader knew she was working with the Rebel Alliance to showing how she actually got the plans for the Death Star. It also managed to solve a plot hole with the movie:Rogue Onehelped explain how Vader tracked Leia’s ship, even thoughhyperspace tracking was pioneered inStar Wars: The Last Jedi.
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The Empire Was Already Working On Hyperspace Tracking
While hyperspace tracking wouldn’t be fully realized untilThe Last Jedi, the Empire was already working on it as early as 1 ABY (After the Battle of Yavin).InRogue One, while Jyn Erso, Cassian Andor, and K-2SO were trying to find the Death Star plans in the vault on Scarif, they rifled through a few other files. One of those files was titled “hyperspace tracking,” which was an indication that the Empire was already working on the technology. They weren’t successful, but their research laid the groundwork for the First Order’s attempts, and it came extremely close to solving the problem decades earlier.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Cast
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a standalone film set in the Star Wars universe, where a group of resistance fighters, led by Jyn Erso, embarks on a mission to steal the Death Star plans. This pivotal event sets the stage for the iconic saga to follow.
Hyperspace tracking is a fairly complicated technique inStar Wars. Essentially, every ship had a unique hyperspace signature, and if it could be both detected and recognized, it could be tracked. The Empire figured out the detection side of the problem.There was already a network of buoys planted across the galaxy that formed the framework of the holonet system and helped in navigation, and the Empire simply modified those buoys to detect changes in hyperspace. Where they failed, however, was in being able to single out a specific ship’s hyperspace signature, which leads directly intoA New Hope.
The Tantive IV’s Subspace Signature Was Unusual Due To A “Malfunction”
The only thing that kept the Empire from employing hyperspace tracking during the Galactic Civil War was its inability to distinguish the subtle differences that made each ship’s hyperspace signature unique.Unfortunately for the Rebel Alliance, theTantive IVhad been damaged in a previous mission, as detailed inFrom a Certain Point of View. Because of the damage it had sustained, theTantive IVgave off a unique hyperspace signature. Because the Empire already had its network of buoys in place, and since theTantive IV’s signature didn’t require intense calculations and algorithms to decipher, Darth Vader was able to track Leia wherever she went.
Why Princess Leia’s Ship Was Perfect For The Rebel Alliance
Princess Leia’s ship is one of Star Wars’ most recognizable, yet the vehicle also made perfect logical sense for utilization by the Rebel Alliance.
Because its origins began all the way back in the Dark Times,The Last Jedi’s hyperspace tracking fixedA New Hope’s plot hole, with the help of a few otherStar Warsstories. Oddly, the details of the mission that originally damaged theTantive IVstill haven’t been revealed, so it’s not entirely clear how its hyperspace signature became so distinctive. It’s possible that the ship was deliberately sabotaged, as the Empire did have a spy who was close to Leia: the silver protocol droid U-3PO. Regardless of how theTantive IVwas damaged, however, it still explains one of the biggest mysteries ofA New Hope.
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
Star Wars is a seminal science fiction film released in 1977 that follows the quest of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo to rescue Princess Leia from the oppressive Imperial forces. They are aided by the droids R2-D2 and C-3PO, as they strive to restore peace to the galaxy.
