An ascension gun was any weapon that carried a grappling hook launcher, commonly in conjunction with a liquid-cable launcher or a syntherope tether.
Description[]
The ascension gun was generally a grappling-dart launcher which launched a tether made of syntherope attached to a weapon, such as a heavy blaster pistol. The user could switch the weapon from blaster mode to ascension mode. When fired in ascension mode, the weapon shot a grappling dart attached to the syntherope, tethering the weapon to the target. If the tether was launched vertically, the ascension gun could quickly pull the wielder upward, with a maximum vertical lift capacity of roughly 720 kg. The ascension gun could also be used to create a horizontal zipline to a target surface. The zipline allowed the wielder to quickly slide along the line if the destination had a lower elevation. In ascension mode, the tether had a maximum range of 45 meters.[1]
The ascension gun had a capacity of 50 shots, after which the power pack would need replacing. Additionally, the ascension gun carried only two lengths of syntherope; after 2 uses, the syntherope had to be replaced. The ascension gun was restricted to military use.[1]
The S-5 heavy blaster pistol used by the Royal Naboo Security Forces had a ascension gun attachment.
History[]
The S-5 heavy blaster pistol used by the Royal Naboo Security Forces at the Second Battle of Theed could be easily configured to operate as an ascension gun. Queen Amidala and Captain Panaka used the S-5's grappling hook launcher to scale the walls of the Theed Royal Palace, during their ultimately successful attempt to capture Nute Gunray.
The Grand Army of the Republic's clone troopers used ascension guns like DC-15S and DC-15A blaster rifles, and DC-17 hand blaster.
At the Battle of Hoth, Commander Luke Skywalker used a magnetic harpoon gun from his damaged snowspeeder to lift himself underneath an AT-AT, where he used his lightsaber to slice open a section of the assault vehicle's belly. Skywalker threw a proton grenade into the breach, and released the harpoon, falling to the snowy ground moments before the walker exploded.
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga
- LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy
Sources[]
- Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary
- Star Wars Roleplaying Game Revised Core Rulebook
- The New Essential Guide to Weapons and Technology
- Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary
- Galaxy at War
- ascension gun in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Three