Astromech droid
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[edit] Overview
- "The astromechs are the backbone of Starfighter Command. Hardest working beings in the galaxy."
- ―Wedge Antilles[src]
An astromech droid's primary purpose on smaller ships such as starfighters was as a backup or replacement for a nav computer; however, due to the limitations of each unit's astrogation buffer, an astromech could only hold a set number of hyperspace coordinates. They also provided in-flight maintenance and repair, and performed a number of routine functions so the pilot could focus on flying the ship.
Larger starships usually carried a large complement of these in case of malfunctions or combat damage, while some snubfighters (notably the T-65 X-wing starfighter and Naboo N-1 starfighter), carried a droid in a special port for in-flight field repairs. Astromech droids had, in some cases, also been known to carry out light janitorial duties, and several instances of slicing carried out by these droids have been known, though this often required the installation of special programming.
Most astromechs were only able to communicate in writing, conveyed via another computer system, or through binary, a special code of clicks, bleeps, and similar sounds.
The term "Astromech droid" had been used informally by spacers since around the time of the Jedi Civil War at least, to refer to the Utility droids that performed similar tasks during that era. It was not until some decades before the beginning of the Clone Wars when the company Industrial Automaton started launching their highly successful lines of astromech droids, that the term caught on and started to become synonymous with their models. Most notably the R-series of astromech droids, ranging from the R1-series to the R9-series.
Arguably, the most famous astromech droid was R2-D2, an IA R2-series astromech droid.
[edit] List of astromech droid series
- P2-series astromech droid
- Q7-series astromech droid
- Q9-series astromech droid
- R-series
- Blastromech
[edit] Appearances
- Star Wars: Starfighter
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace novel
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
- Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace junior novel
- LEGO Star Wars: The Video Game (Non-canonical appearance)
- LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (Non-canonical appearance)
- Star Wars: Battlefront
- Rogue Planet
- Jedi Quest: The School of Fear (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones
- Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones junior novel
- Star Wars: The Clone Wars video game
- Star Wars: Battlefront II
- Star Wars: Republic Commando
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith junior novel
- Star Wars Missions 11: Bounty Hunters vs. Battle Droids
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope junior novel
- LEGO Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy (Non-canonical appearance)
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader
- Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
- Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back junior novel
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
- Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi junior novel
- X-wing: Wedge's Gamble
- X-wing: The Krytos Trap
- X-wing: The Bacta War
[edit] Sources
- Galaxy Guide 3: The Empire Strikes Back
- "The History of R-Series Astromech Droids," Star Wars Adventure Journal 7
Astromech droid in the Databank
- Star Wars: Behind the Magic
