First, let me talk about that 3d6 Laser Trap.
It can possibly knock some players to 0 right away,
but with some friends around, they can probably get 1 HP back from the medkit that was found in C1 (or a Mystic can heal). Then they can spend Resolve to get their SP back. It also reminds player's that Traps are still a thing in Starfinder and the future. My players were not being particularly careful in the tunnels, and this was a harsh reminder for them.
As for Tasch,he was in the cart right away, dropped the first PC that he say with some help from his henchmen. This is including the fact that I gave the bad guys a surprise round because my PCs took 10 minutes after the laser trap blew the stamina away from the Mechanic. After the first full round and the first PC dropped, the players now knew combat was dangerous, and also quickly wanted to know how to get into the cart with Tasch. Remember, that cart holds three medium creatures. The Operative and Mechanic (Exo) both jumped into the cart with their survival knives, forcing Tasch to go from his fancy Static Arc Pistol to a survival knife as well. His damage tanked, and he only barely dropped the Operative in the last round of combat (Tasch himself only has 2 HP left).
EDIT: After reading some reviews though, it does appear that I overlooked his Holographic Clone, so he would've been a little tougher, but I still stand by this fight not being as tough as some make it out to be.