From the Expanded Universe
The most heavily armed and armored unit of stormtroopers in the Empire are the Zero-G Assault Troopers, known commonly as spacetroopers. These elite soldiers wear large powered suits of armor that give them the firepower of a light tank. Though standard stormtrooper armor does provide limited protection against hard vacuum, only these soldiers have been extensively trained for combat operations in space.
Spacetroopers are deadly commandos of the highest order, second only to the Imperial Royal Guard. Their primary missions involve the capturing of enemy vessels intact and the pacifying of rebellious crews. Spacetroopers are typically deployed in units of 40 aboard assault shuttles. This platoon of soldiers can overtake capital ships with their determined assaults.
Spacetrooper armor functions as a personal spacecraft and attack vehicle. A spacetrooper wears a standard stormtrooper shell, and then plugs into a larger set of power armor that stands over two meters tall, and is twice as wide across as an unarmored man. For this bulky appearance, spacetroopers are sometimes called "walking tanks."
Powerful weaponry lines the powersuit armor. Paired grenade launchers are shoulder-mounted and magazine-fed, and are capable of launching concussion, stun and gas projectiles. On the right gauntlet is a powerful blaster cannon, while the left gauntlet features a miniature proton torpedo hurler. The gauntlet features laser cutters or rotating sleeves, allowing the spacetrooper to penetrate armored hulls.
Spacetrooper armor is too cumbersome to operate within planetary gravities. A variety of models of spacetrooper armor have been developed over the years, with the latest generation being far more sleek and maneuverable than earlier iterations.
Behind the Scenes
The spacetrooper was first developed as a formidable enemy for players of the original
Star Wars roleplaying game. It was first described in
The Star Wars Sourcebook in 1987, and was illustrated in the first edition of the
Imperial Sourcebook in 1989. This large version became the basis of a "level boss" enemy in the
Super Star Wars game for the Super Nintendo.
In 1991, Timothy Zahn used the spacetrooper as a threat in his Thrawn Trilogy of novels. Supplemental sourcebooks based on this series introduced a slightly different design of spacetrooper armor. When Heir to the Empire was adapted as a comic series by Dark Horse Comics, the artists illustrated a brand new version of spacetrooper armor that became the basis of the expanded universe action figure produced.
