NationStates Jolt Archive

Uh... Ok.

NASA Shuttle to Launch Luke Skywalker's Lightsaber

Robert Z. Pearlman

SPACE.comTue Aug 28, 11:00 AM ET

When the space shuttle Discovery launches the STS-120 astronaut crew in October, the force will be with them.

Stowed on-board the orbiter, in addition to a new module for the International Space Station, will be the original prop lightsaber used by actor Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker in the 1977 film "Star Wars". The laser-like Jedi weapon is being flown to the orbiting outpost and back in honor of the 30th anniversary of director George Lucas' franchise.

Before it can make its trip to orbit though, the lightsaber will first fly to Houston, Texas, home of NASA's Johnson Space Center, by way of Southwest Airlines and a Star Wars-studded send off from Oakland International Airport in California on Tuesday.

Chewbacca, the towering Wookiee best known from the film as Han Solo's co-pilot on the Millennium Falcon, will officially hand the lightsaber over to officials from Space Center Houston during a ceremony at the airport. Joining "Chewie" will be other characters from the six-part sci-fi classic, including Boba and Jango Fett and together they help push back the airplane on the tarmac.

Once on the ground in Houston, the flight will be greeted by a troop of Stormtroopers and other Star Wars notables including the droid R2-D2, who will deliver the lightsaber to a waiting line of Hummers outside the baggage claim of the William P. Hobby Airport. Accompanied by a police escort, the soon-to-be real space artifact will be driven to Space Center Houston to be exhibited inside a vault that currently displays moon rocks.

Space Center Houston, as the official visitor center for NASA's Johnson Space Center, plans to publicly display the lightsaber through Labor Day, after which it will be prepared for its launch from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The lightsaber is scheduled to depart California at 10:40 a.m. PDT and arrive in Texas at 4:20 p.m. CDT according to a release jointly issued Monday by Southwest Airlines, Space Center Houston and Lucasfilm.

STS-120, targeted for launch on October 23, will be led by commander Pam Melroy and pilot George Zamka. The seven-person crew is completed by mission specialists Scott Parazynski, Doug Wheelock, Stephanie Wilson and European Space Agency astronaut Paolo Nespoli, as well as space station Expedition 16 flight engineer Dan Tani. Besides the lightsaber, their primary cargo is the station's second Italian-built U.S. multi-port node named Harmony.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/nasashuttletolaunchlukeskywalkerslightsaber

I'm not sure who came up with this idea but...

What do you think the astronauts are going to do with the lightsaber in orbit?

Uh... Ok.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/nasashuttletolaunchlukeskywalkerslightsaber

I'm not sure who came up with this idea but...

What do you think the astronauts are going to do with the lightsaber in orbit?

Play with it, of course.

Lightsaber noises are mandatory. Repeat after me, citizen. Vvvvvzziew whiiiew vooov shwieeew.

Though to be honest, I think it's mostly an effort to drum up public support for the space program.

And guys, I love space, but give it a couple years. We got things to fix here first.

Uh... Ok.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/nasashuttletolaunchlukeskywalkerslightsaber

I'm not sure who came up with this idea but...

What do you think the astronauts are going to do with the lightsaber in orbit?

Play Jedi Master. ;)

No gravity = amazing leaps, flips and uses of "the Force".

This is hardly the first time: the prototype space shuttle was named "Enterprise" and yes, they had the actors from the Original Series of Star Trek watching it come back from its glide test, along with the TV show's theme playing in the background.

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/sts/background.html

They had William Shatner back to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Space Camp as well. NASA always plays to the sci fi stars....

And guys, I love space, but give it a couple years. We got things to fix here first.

NASA has payed itself back over seven fold. That means that for every dollar spent on NASA and the space program, the government receives 7 dollars, by conservative estimates no less.

So, really, NASA is a money maker, not a hole.

NASA has payed itself back over seven fold. That means that for every dollar spent on NASA and the space program, the government receives 7 dollars, by conservative estimates no less.

So, really, NASA is a money maker, not a hole.

Unfortunately people's love of adventure and discovery either died or was just a myth and it's hard to find anyone who supports the space program anymore. :(

Uh... Ok.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/nasashuttletolaunchlukeskywalkerslightsaber

I'm not sure who came up with this idea but...

What do you think the astronauts are going to do with the lightsaber in orbit?

...
...
...
...
...
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...
Damnit, I'm running out of ellipses!

Unfortunately people's love of adventure and discovery either died or was just a myth and it's hard to find anyone who supports the space program anymore. :(

Not really. NASA is supported by the government. A government run by politicians who are more interested in lining their pockets in the here and now rather than making long term investments.

I love clever publicity stunts.

Although, this might be the most expensive publicity stunt in history.

They had William Shatner back to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Space Camp as well. NASA always plays to the sci fi stars....

Can't wait until they get around to Alien - though I wouldn't want to be part of the crew.

And guys, I love space, but give it a couple years. We got things to fix here first.

Why not take the money from where it is least needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_spending)?

The total spending in peaceful space exploration and studies is less than 5% of the spending dedicated to destroying *people's lives* around the world...and I'm not even including individual spending (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2834893820070828) on guns and their maintenance here.

They had William Shatner back to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Space Camp as well. NASA always plays to the sci fi stars....
That's because NASA is (unsurprisingly) full of sci-fi geeks and nerds.

Play with it, of course.

Lightsaber noises are mandatory. Repeat after me, citizen. Vvvvvzziew whiiiew vooov shwieeew.

Though to be honest, I think it's mostly an effort to drum up public support for the space program.

And guys, I love space, but give it a couple years. We got things to fix here first.

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It'll be like playing with the lightsabers in the Wal-Mart toy section, but about a hundred times cooler.

...

I so need to sneak aboard that shuttle.

Hah, that's an amusing story.

Question is...

Who gets to play with it? I imagine they're all gonna suddenly become like kids and squabble over it.

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It'll be like playing with the lightsabers in the Wal-Mart toy section, but about a hundred times cooler.

...

I so need to sneak aboard that shuttle.

Trust me, it's not very pleasant. Especially if you are claustrophobic.

Why not take the money from where it is least needed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_spending)?

The total spending in peaceful space exploration and studies is less than 5% of the spending dedicated to destroying *people's lives* around the world...and I'm not even including individual spending (http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSL2834893820070828) on guns and their maintenance here.

Well said. It's amazing how people can sit there calmly while the US spends ridiculous sums on making offensive war (the Department of "Defense," which sounds to me about one step away from "Ministry of Peace") but decry a tiny sum spent on exploring space and advancing science.

I think NASA should be more efficient, but if it's budgetary priorities we're talking about, there are other fish to fry.

Hah, that's an amusing story.

Question is...

Who gets to play with it? I imagine they're all gonna suddenly become like kids and squabble over it.

Commander: Now you two play nice and share, or I'll turn this shuttle around!

He then, of course, grabs it for himself when they aren't looking.

Kat: just a point: the space shuttle Enterprise was actually the last in a long list of "ships" to carry that name, most pre-dating Star Trek.

On the original point, why, wth its limited payload and how much it costs per gram to put something into orbit, would NASA waste it on a toy? Oh yeah, publicity: must appeal to the masses.

Why isn't it in the hands of Mark Hamill?

Oh yeah, publicity: must appeal to the masses.
Gotta keep that funding coming in!

Kat: just a point: the space shuttle Enterprise was actually the last in a long list of "ships" to carry that name, most pre-dating Star Trek.

Yes, but that shuttle got the name specifically because fans inundated NASA with demands that it be named Enterprise. I believe the name it was originally supposed to have was Constitution.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Enterprise
http://www.spacetoday.org/SpcShtls/SpcShtlStories.html

Uh... Ok.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/nasashuttletolaunchlukeskywalkerslightsaber

I'm not sure who came up with this idea but...

What do you think the astronauts are going to do with the lightsaber in orbit?

Cut the spaceship and each other to pieces in a mock duel.

All they need to do is go to the moon with two light sabers and have the most epic battle of the century.