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"  In the movies, Luke Skywalker&amp;#039;s green lightsaber has traveled to cosmic destinations such as Tatooine, Endor and the Death Star II. In real life, the lightsaber prop used by Mark Hamill in Return of the Jedi will now fulfill its fictional destiny by making its way into space and back. The 1.5-pound lightsaber is en route to the International Space Station, or ISS, thanks to an idea from NASA&amp;#039;s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The space shuttle Discovery has agreed to take it into low Earth orbit as part of a stunt to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Star Wars. The shuttle&amp;#039;s 23rd mission to the ISS, dubbed STS-120, aims to provide attachments to the European and Japanese laboratory modules that eventually will be installed in late 2007 or 2008. Months before launch, the lightsaber received an elaborate send-off and escort from Southern California by Chewbacca, Boba Fett, various Stormtroopers and others. George Lucas was on hand this week to witness the space shuttle&amp;#039;s launch. Discovery crew members plan to carry out five spacewalks and likely won&amp;#039;t have time to duel with the lightsaber, which is located inside an inaccessible compartment, according to USA Today. When the lightsaber returns to Earth, it will be displayed at the Johnson Space Center visitors center, Space Center Houston.  Meanwhile, although the Discovery crew might miss out on some fun lightsaber dueling, our crew at PM this summer got to try out a few lightsabers in style. \u2014Wayne Ma  EARLIER: Custom Lightsabers Hold Up in Jedi Battle "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/gadgets/a2229/4229297/>