Lightsaber sent into space

Luke Skywalker's original lightsaber will be sent into space.

The original prop of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber from the first Star Wars movie will be sent into space aboard the space shuttle Discovery in October to commemorate the film franchise's 30th anniversary, according to a joint announcement from Lucasfilm, the Space Center Houston and Southwest Airlines on Aug. 27.

The prop will be flown to Houston on Aug. 28 from its current home at Lucasfilm headquarters in Northern California.

An actor dressed as Chewbacca will hand the lightsaber over to representatives from NASA's Space Center Houston during a ceremony at Oakland International Airport.

Upon landing in Houston, the lightsaber will be escorted by costumed stormtroopers, alongside R2-D2 and other Star Wars characters, to a caravan of Hummers with a police escort. It will be transported for safekeeping to NASA's Space Center Houston, where it will be secured inside the vault once used to store samples from the moon until it is ready for its trip into space.