The launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery in October 2007 marked the 23rd mission (codenamed STS-120) to the International Space Station (ISS). Led by a team of seven astronauts, the goal was to deliver the Italian-made Harmony Node 2 module to the ISS. The crew was also tasked with connecting the module and relocating components to a different part of the station.
Approaching the 20th anniversary of STS-120, it pays to reflect on the enormous effort required for such a voyage to be successful, not to mention the safety and comfort of the “Star Wars” movie prop that was stowed aboard the Discovery shuttle. To commemorate the 30th anniversary of “Star Wars: A New Hope” in 2007, it was decided that the prop lightsaber used by actor Mark Hamill would accompany the International Space Station crew of seven.
The “laser sword” was given an official sendoff at the William P. Hobby Airport, where Stormtroopers and other Star Wars alumni, including Chewbacca, gathered to wish Luke’s saber safe travels to space. The prop was initially displayed at Space Center Houston before being brought to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for launch.
Star Wars has been to space more than once
This isn’t the only time the Star Wars franchise has crossed paths with our real-life cosmos. Back in 2015, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” the seventh film in the Skywalker Saga, was transported to the ISS so astronauts could watch it. Then there’s the story of MIT professor David Miller — now the vice president and CTO at The Aerospace Corporation — who tasked his 1999 class with building a version of the floating droid Luke sparred with during lightsaber training.
The students came up with Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES), which were designed to test spacecraft rendezvous and docking maneuvers. Researchers have even gone as far as to nickname one of Saturn’s moons (Mimas) the “Death Star moon,” due to its uncanny resemblance to the infamous planet destroyer.
Imagine traveling back in time to Modesto, California and visiting a twenty-something George Lucas who had just survived a massive car wreck. You lean in and say, “One day, your multi-billion-dollar sci-fi franchise will send one of its keepsake props to the ISS.” Mr. Lucas would likely be very confused, as neither “Star Wars” nor the International Space Station existed in the 1950s, but we can’t think of any space-time continuum laws you’d be breaking.
