OK. In full transparency, the title of this blog post is about 70% click-bait. But the other 30% is a somewhat-solid analogy. So let’s talk about that 30%.
First, we’re talking about both Death Stars: the original Death Star in Episode IV, A New Hope and the second, unfinished (yet fully operational) Death Star in Episode VI, The Return of the Jedi.
I think we can all agree that the planning committee that proposed the original Death Star was thinking smartly. The Empire needed infrastructure to properly oppress the Galaxy and the Death Star clearly promised a strong ROI for oppression. There was only a small incremental investment to move the Death Star in hyperspace and to fire up its lasers. And the return on that incremental investment was massive: the Empire could destroy a city (e.g., Jedda) or an entire planet (e.g., Alderaan).
Yet the first Death Star was destroyed by an X-Wing fighter with two proton torpedoes.
We can be quite confident that the Empire’s insurance carriers denied all claims for the first Death Star’s subsequent “explosion.” So that means the Empire needed some investment capital. But why would anyone agree to finance the second Death Star? It was at best questionable as to whether or not it could be properly defended. You can just hear the questions from the bankers when Darth Sidious pitched the new Death Star: “So…will this Death Star have any exhaust ports? Will it have tighter defenses to stop snub fighters? Why not build more star destroyers?”
But did the Empire have a choice but to keep spending on a second Death Star? Were there better alternatives to oppress the Galaxy? While hindsight is always 20/20, I think the answer to both questions is in the negative. Star Destroyers were simply not enough. And forget Tie Fighters. If the Empire was going to maintain its grip (and effectively oppress the galaxy), it had to have the destructive power of the Death Star.
So, I hear you asking: “how are you going to make this Death Star post into an analogy about drone batteries (and not just click bait)”?
Drone batteries are the second Death Star. We are caught in a never-ending loop of buying multiple battery packs, charging stations, rooms dedicated to charging, and managing all of it. We are the Empire. Forever doomed to repeat those mistakes in order to maintain our grip on our drone business.
Or maybe we can solve this if we needed far fewer batteries? Well, that’s just a shameless pitch for the Modovolo Lift. Long flight time means far fewer batteries. And less Death Star-ing.
You can pre-order your Modovolo Lift here. Only 200 pre-orders available.
