This would be really goofy if it didn't have a serious cool factor to it -- at least for science fiction and space geeks like me.

May the force be with shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts on an October mission to the International Space Station.

Coming from a galaxy far, far away, the lightsaber wielded by Luke Skywalker in Star Wars will fly aboard the orbiter three decades after the classic movie opened.

"What better way to celebrate the 30th anniversary than to send the original lightsaber into space with the shuttle?" Julie Kuenstle, a spokeswoman for Space Center Houston, said Tuesday.

The lightsaber will be on display at the visitor complex at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston through Labor Day. Then it will be shipped to Kennedy Space Center and packed into Discovery's mid-deck.

NASA spokesman James Hartsfield said the sci-fi sword would remain stowed throughout the shuttle's 13-day mission.

Yeah -- I guess a lightsaber wouldn't be much good if the Shuttle were to encounter the Death Star.

I guess I'll have to drive down the road this week to see the movie relic before it gets shipped to Florida.

Posted by: Greg at 04:51 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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