Finally! Doing Something Worthwhile with the Space Shuttle

When the crew of the Space Shuttle Discovery lift-off in October, the one thing they can be sure of is that they’ll be well-armed. In honor of the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, the crew will carry Luke Skywalker’s original lightsaber into space with them.

The lightsaber will begin its journey today in a ceremony at Oakland International Airport, where Chewbacca will hand over the lightsaber to NASA officials. From there, it will fly aboard a special Southwest Airlines flight that will be pushed back from the gate by Chewie, Boba and Jango Fett, and other characters from the movies. It will arrive in Houston, Texas at 4:20 PM CDT to be greeted by a squadron of stormtroopers, R2-D2, and others at William P. Hobby Airport. From there, it will travel via a fleet of Hummers under police escort to Space Center Houston where it will be on exhibit through Labor Day.