system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Wars]Why did the rebel fleet do a really dangerous trench run to get to the exhaust port of the Death Star? Couldn't they've just dive bombed it from above?

The thing is wide open and uncovered so why skim a really dangerous trench littered with TIE fighters and turret towers instead of just dropping from above and blasting it?

Also another question; how did Luke's missiles/blasters/torpedoes make that 90 degree turn in space?
gpt
Coming in from 90 degrees lets every tubo laser and anti ship weapon around the exhaust port to fire at him. We're talking about a few hundred weapon systems locking on to him, but in the trench only guns in the trench too can fire at him. Sure he has low manoeuvrability in the trench but he has far less to dodge then flying it outside the trench.

The torpedoes make the turn down the exhaust port because they had been specially programed to make that turn.