NASA To Send Luke's Lightsaber Into Space

Verunks writes "In honor of the 30th anniversary of Star Wars, NASA will launch Luke Skywalker's original Jedi lightsaber into space along with the crew of the space shuttle Discovery. The launch is slated for October."

Why not George Lucas?

[writertype (541679)]

Basically, this is the equivalent of "first post", for this topic, at least.

Glad to see...

[speaker of the truth (1112181)]

Glad to see NASA focusing on the important stuff when it comes to space.

Re:Glad to see...

[QuantumG (50515)]

Rutan recently said, "Admitting that the shuttle was wrong is an honest thing, but there is not the courage to actually try something we don't know will work. It means that we are absolutely, positively guaranteed to not solve the problem" of the dangers and expense of spaceflight.

Re:Glad to see...

[QuantumG (50515)]

Always start with wikipedia..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_the_Spac e_Shuttle_program [wikipedia.org]

The criticism of the shuttle program is extensive and uncontroversial. No-one in the industry, not even NASA, thinks the shuttle is anything but a huge balls up from beginning to end. The most flattering description of the shuttle program you can get from a space systems engineer is "it was a nice design before congress got to it."

Re:Glad to see...

[Jugalator (259273)]

If you're sending up space shuttle Discovery, I doubt there's a lot of wasted costs on putting a lightsabre in there. :-p

You could look at it in another way too -- without publicity for the masses (and not just space geeks), theye will lose interest in it. This seems like a very effort free way of raising publicity, and quite different on truly having their wrong focus by launching satellites for fun.

Re:Glad to see...

[QuantumG (50515)]

So what you're saying is that this is really cheap advertising.

Personally, I think NASA could more easily improve their image by putting a few cameras on the shuttle.. and showing us what the astronauts are actually doing when they're going through the procedures to return to earth, say, instead of showing us shot after shot of the landing strip, 4 hours before the shuttle is even scheduled to enter the atmosphere.

Maybe put together some CG of the shuttle doing what it does when the astronauts press the buttons on the flight deck. Show us that when they're going through the procedures.. instead of the same shot of the earth from the ISS for 40 minutes.

Ya know, actually engage the people on the ground in the process.

Re:Glad to see...

[fr4nk (1077037)]

Personally, I think NASA could more easily improve their image by putting a few cameras on the shuttle.. and showing us what the astronauts are actually doing when they're going through the procedures to return to earth, say, instead of showing us shot after shot of the landing strip, 4 hours before the shuttle is even scheduled to enter the atmosphere.

You should have a look at NASA TV [nasa.gov] during Shuttle missions.

Re:The Next Generation

[kamapuaa (555446)]

Lance Bass didn't actually go into space, but as a rich person who wanted to spend his own money to make it into space, that sort of thing is exactly what the space program needs. Private enterprise realizing financial opportunities in space flight would be about the best possible thing that could happen to NASA, whether it's exotic vacations, or increased satellites, or zero-G research, or mining some exotic kind of space narcotic, or whatever the fuck people might want from outer space and be willing to spend money for. NASA right now exists somewhere between being a long term investment and as a propaganda arm of the US government, its future is always going to be in doubt while that's true.

Re:Glad to see...

[cp.tar (871488)]

Jesus, no kidding. I wouldn't think this is exactly the kind of publicity NASA needs. Replacing moon rocks with light sabers? That's sacreligious.

Just wait. Soon enough, they'll be modifying the Moon to look like the Death Star.

At least they'll want us to believe they're only modifying it to look like the Death Star, while actual"#$//" NO CARRIER.

Careful...

[Treskin (555947)]

Hey, now. That's one of the great artifacts of geekdom, and they're risking it on a shuttle launch? I seem to recall NASA's shuttles being a little... what's the word... explody, at times. Losing another crew would be bad enough, but Luke's saber? C'mon!

Re:Careful...

[tsm_sf (545316)]

Tragedy is when I cut my finger, comedy is when you fall into an open manhole and die.

- Mel Brooks

Really cool if

[dotslashdot (694478)]

What would be really cool is if some aliens found it and made operational and then shipped it to me using GalEx (GalaxyExpress). Then I could go up to my boss, rattle my light saber by saying "Look. I am your fodder." Khoo khaa.

Great...

[Chlorus (1146335)]

...now some alien civilization will find it and a) sell it on Ebay for a ludicrous amount or b) brag to various and sundry that they own the original prop. Or they'll just do with it what they'll probably do to the Voyager probes: Toss it in the trash.

Why?

[Jartan (219704)]

I'm not much of the sort to care about this thing usually but I have to question what the point is of sending a expensive cultural item flinging off into space is? Shouldn't the thing be in a museum or something somewhere? Or perhaps sell it and get the Astronauts some new cupholders?

Not a big deal

[Derek Loev (1050412)]

Guys, don't worry, I'm sure it's not the real lightsaber. The real one was lost years ago. This is a digitally remastered (better) lightsaber with added features and toys! Very soon you will be able to buy your own original (digitally remastered and better) lightsaber at your local convenience store and you too can shoot it off into space. And it really is a good buy, George Lucas has assured us the money will go to deleting the entire Obi-Wan Darth Vader duel of A New Hope and adding a new scene (digitally remastered and better, of course) with Ewan McGregor. It's going to be great!

We seem to be...

[Derek Loev (1050412)]

Star Wars Fans: We seem to be made to suffer. It's our lot in life.

Shouldn't it already be in space?

[Enderandrew (866215)]

After Vader cut off Luke's hand, I thought the saber would be tumbling somewhere in the Bespin system.

The irony of that moment is that Luke's father "wanted him to have it", except Luke's father cut off his hand to disarm him of it. And apparently Obi-Wan's interpretation of "he wanted you to have it", is "I took it from him after I left the bastard for dead." Though, I imagine his phrasing seems a little more sentimental.

Serenity beat them to it

[mattcoz (856085)]

One of the crew members on a recent shuttle trip to the international space station brought the Firefly and Serenity DVDs up with them. Breaking Atmo [breakingatmo.com]

Mark Hamill?

[inicom (81356)]

Am I the only one sad that Mark Hamill isn't part of the ceremony? I'm sure it couldn't be a question of cost. Instead, the only "dignataries" at the send off and return are costumes. If Luke's saber is being used for publicity, the hand that wielded it should be as well.

Boy, the pressure's really on now.

[seebs (15766)]

They're gonna have to be extra careful not to blow this one up or anything, that saber's irreplaceable.

Re:NASA must have too much money

[Ubitsa_teh_1337 (1006277)]

Actually, though this may come as a surprise, the space shuttle is not fueled by money, it's fueled by rocket fuel. The $9,000/kilo figure is just an average based on how much it costs to launch the shuttle and how heavy the shuttle is. Adding a .5kg lightsaber doesn't change how expensive the launch will be, at all.

Re:NASA must have too much money

[poopdeville (841677)]

There's a REASON there's such a huge pricetag on lifting anything in orbit, and you can't say "well the shuttle's gonna fly anyways so I might as well throw this trinket in", especially when there are a ton of legitimate things waiting YEARS for a chance of being lifted into space.

Too bad they weigh enough that they don't fit in this flight's spare capacity, like the light saber does. There's a limit to how much each flight can carry. They fit as much scientific stuff as they can on each one. But there's often spare capacity.

You're just wrong.

Re:Um

[OldManAndTheC++ (723450)]

Yes. It will be ejected into space, while miles below on the ground, Mark Hamill will reach spaceward, grimacing slightly as if straining on the toilet. The lightsaber will fly towards his outstretched hand through the power of The Force.

This is also how he retrieves his TV remote without getting up.

Re:Um

[RuBLed (995686)]

This is also how he retrieves his TV remote without getting up.

from the toilet?

Re:Fired

[sircastor (1051070)]

the whole series is really about him but noooo....

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!