Lucasfilm to launch prop lightsaber aboard Space Shuttle

phase pistol

phase pistol

Master Member
RPF PREMIUM MEMBER
I had to check to make sure it wasn't April 1 before I posted this...


NASA shuttle to launch Luke's lightsaber

August 27, 2007 — When the space shuttle Discovery launches the STS-120 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.

Return to collectSPACE on Tuesday, August 28 for pictures from the Houston arrival of the lightsaber and its delivery to the space center.





http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-082707a.html
 
Last edited:
Wow, that's pretty cool...
I bet this is the ranch saber though...IF it's authentic.
 
What happened to the rumor that Mark Hamill had the original lightsaber????

If this ends up being the original, I guess this will disprove that notion.

Dave :)
 
jus to stand up for us Trekkers,
there was a bunch of fallout about Hollywood publicity when they named the first Space Shuttle the Enterprise and had the TOS crew next to her for pics.

while its a nice gesture to send the saber it seems a little to much Hollywood for the Shuttle program.
and if the shuttle blows up the Government will swear it accured because it was aboard. :lol

now if they eject it into space near Scottys ashes it will be toooo much.

john :cool

hopefully it wont be a genuine original saber verified by PROFILES IN HISTORY with a genuine COA.. :lol:lol:lol
 
I think they are just having some fun, not a bad thing to do.
The astronauts are allowed to take a few personal items aboard with approval of a board. I believe this will technically be the case for someone to officially carry this on a trip. Some items stay packed and never are brought out in flight. I would guess though that one of the crew will possibly want to do a photo op with it in hand and given the hype before hand a a planned opportunity to do so.
There are a lot of sci-fi fans inside of NASA. Not surprising to see something of this nature for public relations. Again, I think is a good thing to have a bit of fun like this.
 
I saw this:

news-082707a.jpg


FB
 
I heard this on the radio this morning, and thought "Why?"

What a waste of shuttle time, and a piece of history.

What's the point anyway? Whether they really launch the actual saber, a replica, or sink tube, who is going to know? What significance will this have? None.
 
Any Houstonites want to snap a few photos of it while it's on display? Probably the ranch saber, but it would be interesting if it's something else.
 
I've met Commander/Pilot Pam Melroy several times, and her father volunteers at my Space Center. I will try to get as much info as I can on this. Very very cool.
 
You know, I think it's cool when the shuttle crews take up little mementos from the genre films. Geeky, but cool. And it's cool when they do this on an official level as well. Heck, they had Patrick Stewart do a variation of the TREK opening narration as one of the wake up calls to a shuttle mission a few years ago.

And even this is cool in a way. I don't care if it's "THE" Luke lightsaber or not. But what bugs me is the hoopla. Having a guy in a Chewbacca suit hand it over. Having costumed guys in Houston to escort it to JSC. That kind of stunt just cheapens the whole thing, screams "GEEK" in loud letters and gives fandom and this "stunt" a bad name. In my opinion, this thing would have been a whole lot classier if they just did it and quietly announced that the Shuttle was carrying it after the thing had launched.

Gene
 
An article from cbs4 Denver said the plans were to jettison the lightsaber into space. :confused If that be the case, I am sure it isn't any of the original props.
 
GKvfx said:
You know, I think it's cool when the shuttle crews take up little mementos from the genre films. Geeky, but cool. And it's cool when they do this on an official level as well. Heck, they had Patrick Stewart do a variation of the TREK opening narration as one of the wake up calls to a shuttle mission a few years ago.

And even this is cool in a way. I don't care if it's "THE" Luke lightsaber or not. But what bugs me is the hoopla. Having a guy in a Chewbacca suit hand it over. Having costumed guys in Houston to escort it to JSC. That kind of stunt just cheapens the whole thing, screams "GEEK" in loud letters and gives fandom and this "stunt" a bad name. In my opinion, this thing would have been a whole lot classier if they just did it and quietly announced that the Shuttle was carrying it after the thing had launched.

Gene
Click to expand...


Agreed! The geek parade surrounding the whole thing is just silly and not needed. Just have Lucas hand it over to NASA without the silliness and be done with it. It takes something that should just be a cool little gesture and turns it into a nerd-fest. Bad form.
 
I also saw that "rumor" on Foxnews website today...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,294910,00.html
that they were going to jettison it into space.
Since there is only one site claiming this will happen versus many MANY others that say it will be flown up AND BACK... I'd say it's a mistake.

I think it's kind of a cool idea... but not as cool as the astronaut that took a copy of Serenity and Firefly up to the space station for them to keep recently! That made me smile alot!
 
Maybe up there it will actually work? :rolleyes

I heard the jettison claim as well on the news just a bit ago...

Really wish they would be specific. :unsure If it turns out to not even be a screen used piece... :thumbsdown What a waste that would be.

If it is a real deal piece thats just going up and back? That would be pretty cool. :cool
 
Astronauts are allowed to take personal items too.

So all kind of things have been flown believe me.
 
Well at least we can hope for good photo documentation of the saber. If it is an actual screenused prop, that will be a win.

As to jettisoning it into space, that's unlikely. Space Junk is a real problem these days, and a lightsaber thrown overboard is likely to come screaming back at them some day. :lol

No, I bet if this really is on the up and up, it's just for the sake of the "cool" factor, and so that they can have a little plaque that says "FLOWN IN SPACE" next to it.

As an aside, this sort of thing is done all the time, but it's usually with more HISTORIC artifacts. A piece of cloth from the Wright Brothers plane, that sort of thing.

- k
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

FLS89
Mace Windu Lightsaber Prop Store Auction
2 3
Replies
57
Views
2,909
thd9791
thd9791
Very777Rare
Random Grip Wampa Scene Skywalker Lightsaber??
2
Replies
22
Views
1,239
thd9791
thd9791
Logermeister
Spinning Inquisitor Lightsaber Build
Replies
8
Views
813
Astyanax
Astyanax
thd9791
Tom’s 2024 Zeiss Ikon Custom saber
Replies
7
Views
465
Halliwax
Halliwax
thd9791
Machinist's term project - Tom's first lightsaber gift
Replies
5
Views
467
redbutton
redbutton
Back
Top