So...planetary shields are pointless now, right?

So I understand that Han flew through Starkiller's shields, but was there ever an instance when the First Order did something similar?
From what I got from the film, Starkiller used a particular type of shield (without any hint as to the type's prevalence) and Han had to pull off an *incredibly* risky bit of flying in order to actually get past it.
I mean, all the X-Wings waited until the shield was actually down before making their approach.

 

Yeah, I agree that does cause numerous problems. I thought that was a mistake too.

Do you have any idea how much energy and resources it would take to shield an entire planet? A small craft can just jump past it in light speed? That's more than a 'little' design flaw.

And trying to calculate a full drop out of 'light speed' (cough, cough) after the atmosphere, but before you crash into the surface of a planet moving in orbit would more than a little difficult (bordering impossible) as well. I love the Millenium Falcon, but she is a dinosaur. I doubt she could pull something like that off without a complete overhaul and upgrade of her internal systems.

And that if you can do that it also kind of ruins the whole needing to sneak past the empire to turn off the shield generator in Return of the Jedi when they could have just flown there in the Millenium Falcon, jumped past the shield, shot and blown up the shield generator and jumped to light speed to get out again. Like a 50 second mission at best.

A bit annoying really.

 

Remember, the Millennium Falcon is the ship that made the Kessel Run is 12 parsecs. Parsecs are a measure of distance, not time. So when he says he made the Kessel run in 12 parsecs, he's boating about his ships navigation computer; it's ability to calculate a shorter, more precise hyperspace jump.

IF any ship could hyperspace through a planetary shield, the Falcon would be it.

Most pilots just aren't as reckless as Han.

Not really. There was enough space between the shield and the planet's surface to slow down.
The Death Star's shield "fit" closer to the surface.

 

I had always found the whole idea of planetary shields idiotic. Spaceships are arriving and departing all the time, which requires the shields to be constantly switched off and on. How can things like the Death Star shoot out laser beams but not be hit by laser beams? Or in the case of Starkiller Base, how can the planet absorb energy from a star but block laser blasts?

 

Well it did not help Alderaan against the death star, Coruscant is the only planet I know's shields were never tested, they were disabled at the end of the Palpatine/Sidious era, if we have planet destroying weapons being developed, the best advice, GET OFF THE PLANET!!!!!

 

"Enough space" to slow down at lightspeed between the shield in the atmosphere and the planets surface? You do realise that you are talking about the difference of like a billionth of a second between crashing into the atmospheric shield and smashing into the planets surface at that speed. Um, just no.

And the planetary shield "fit closer" to the Endor moon than the Starkiller planet?
Really? You completely made that up, there is no way that you could possibly know that. I call utter and complete bullc**p on that one.

 

It's a hero moment in a sci-fi fantasy film. You tell me how planetary shields work in real life, and then I'll get to work on whether or not he could have actually done it this way.

Fictional stories require the suspension of disbelief. If anyone is unwilling or unable to do that, then fine. But I don't think it's fair to blame the fiction for being what it is.

For what it's worth, I totally buy the premise because Han Solo and the Millennium Falcon.

 

This is GOOD information....Good one....

 

Have you seen how short a distance they go to stop in and out of hyperspace in past Star Wars moves?
If they plot the course right, they would actually enter orbit near parallel to the planet's surface, essentially allowing them to slow down as they go around the planet's atmosphere.

My understanding is that the shield around the second death star (not around the moon... because as far I was aware, there was none) is a bit closer. The Rebel fleet was able to get pretty close to it before they had to pull up.
So you tell me how close the shield fit to the death star.

 

How ‘bout the Resistance just outfit some high yield ordinance with hyperdrives and shoot them right at the base? Blow the structure from a safe distance? Too easy?

 

If there was never another shield around anything ever again in any Star Wars film, I would be so happy, I just don't know what I would do with myself. Causes so much anxiety, extra thought processes and endless debates. How about: "if we fly to that planet, they're just gonna shoot us down; how do we disable their anti-spaceship artillery network?" Oh wait...

 

The film stated that it was a near-suicidal move (Han saying that Leia wouldn't like it and Finn's reaction when he learned the plan about two seconds before it was executed). And considering how close they ended up being a crater on Starkiller Base really highlights this. Also, the wording of the technobabble suggests that it is the kind of shields being used.

 

How about: None of the above.
It was explained in the movie. Just more proof you never actually watched it.
Btw, here's your prize:
Dumb x 1

 

I never knew that the planets ever really had any planetary shields .

 

I always thought planetary shields worked like this?

 

I'm confused... were planetary shields ever mentioned in the film? I don't recall.

 

Ackbar says they have defensive shields. Han says, "we disable the shields". Han also tells Finn the shields have a "fractional refresh rate that prevents anything traveling slower than light speed from getting through".
So they drop out of light speed far enough from being detected (and shot down) and close enough to the planet that they have to crash land in the snow.

 

Cool, thanks!

So... what's the issue with this exactly?

 

Seems people want more realism when it comes to planetary shields in a science fiction movie.