After the High Command of the Rebel Alliance was exposed to the Empire and were detained by the Imperial Military's Supreme Commander, Darth Vader, they were brought before the Emperor who sentenced them to be tortured, in order to learn the names of all of the Rebel forces and their allies. Following interrogation, the Sith Lord intended to have them painfully executed in public, setting an example to anyone else defying the Empire. The former Sith assassin Galen Marek managed to break in to save his allies, also critically injuring Lord Vader in a duel. The Emperor then ordered the young man to kill the cyborg warlord and claim his mantle as his new Sith apprentice. However, Emperor Palpatine struck Jedi General Rahm Kota with Force lightning when he attempted to cut the Sith Lord down to prevent Marek from turning to the Dark Side. Palpatine and Marek then dueled each other via Force abilities, with the Dark Lord of the Sith eventually being defeated. Despite the prospects of facing his death, Palpatine attempted to goad Marek into killing him in order to turn him to the dark side. However, with Kota's help, Marek refused to give in, and sacrificed himself to allow his allies to escape the Death Star battlestation. As a result of his sacrifice, the Emperor's throne room ended up heavily damaged. It is unknown if the throne room ended up repaired prior to the Death Star's destruction two years later.
The throne room was situated near one of the convergence arrays of the Concave Dish Composite Beam Superlaser. The entrance to the throne room proper was designated by a circular door with a clock-like lock. The outside area of the throne room was a room with a central pillar with two entry points, similar to the future Death Star II. It also contained lifts. In the center was an energy field that was presumably used as a temporary floor as is was incomplete at the time. The south area contained a hallway leading to the Conclave Dish area, whereas the north led to the inner sanctum, with the east and west sides containing windows. The inner sanctum contained a large dais with a long platform leading to the Emperor's area. A shield could be erected to prevent the Emperor from being attacked, and also as a means to prevent escape from the Emperor. Within the shielded area was an array of monitors, the leftmost monitors apparently monitoring the status of the battle station's core, and the rightmost monitors presumably acting as the communications system between the throne room and the rest of the station. The throne itself was just beyond the shielded area and was seemingly built into the wall. There were also containment field capsules for imprisoning people inside. Imperial Royal Guards as well as Imperial Shadow Guards and Imperial Senate Guards were also present to ensure the Emperor's protection.
Similar to the later Death Star II, it also had a 100-meter tower around the northern pole and included among the amenities a private turbolift and throne with command controls.
- Death Star Technical Companion
- Death Star Technical Companion, Second Edition
- Death Star Owner's Technical Manual