You may have heard of the expression, May the 4th be with you. If you don’t already know, May the 4th is unofficially Star Wars Day. The date was chosen for the play on words on the classic catchphrase from the movies. “May the Force be with you” and “May the Fourth be with you”.
The pop culture fan base for Star Wars embraced the May 4th date and popularized it. Lucasfilm and later Disney could not have a better day to advertise Star Wars stuff. This is a testament to the many Star Wars fans across the world who have chosen to celebrate the holiday. Lucasfilm and parent company Disney now also wisely have embraced the date as an annual celebration of Star Wars.
So you might be a die-hard Star Wars fan, or maybe you enjoy the movie. If you don’t like Star Wars, well, not sure why you are reading. Maybe you have a loved one and you are trying to figure out what to do with them on this very important day to them. So we are going to go on the assumption that you know at least a little something about Star Wars.
Alright, to the Coruscant of the article. (Hey, it is a Star Wars article after all!)
What space stuff was influenced by Star Wars?
In 1983, President Ronald Reagan proposed the Strategic Defense Initiative(SDI). Reagan’s SDI concept focused on a missile defense system intended to protect the United States. Attacks delivered by intercontinental ballistic missiles and submarine-launched ballistic missiles would be shot down. Critics of the program nicknamed the program “Star Wars” and the name gained common acceptance. Although satellite-based laser and particle weapons didn’t materialize, this was a space-related program that was definitely influenced by the movies. (click here to learn more about Star Wars… I mean SDI)
Hey, no weapons in space! Well… the Space Shuttle Discovery took to the International Space Station Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber. Seriously. In 2007, as part of a publicity stunt, the lightsaber made it was into space to help commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Star Wars movies. There were even festivities on the ground during the lightsaber handover to NASA including appearances by Chewbacca and Imperial stormtroopers. (Click here to read more about STS-120)
A real-life Death Star orbiting Saturn
Even people see images in space that resemble things that people have seen in the movies. NASA’s Cassini spacecraft on a closes flyby of Saturn’s moon Mimas revealed stunning images. The dominating visual feature of the moon is the large Herschel Crater dominates Mimas. Corrilaries were made because of the visual resemblance of Mimas to the Death Star in the movie “Star Wars.” (click here to read some more on it)
Watching Movies in Space.
Think that all Star Wars fans are out of this world? Would it surprise you to know that some Astronauts are Star Wars fans? Can you guess what astronauts did for Star Wars Day in 2015? If you guessed they watched Star Wars, then your right. Hey, even Astronauts need to take a break.
Just watching @starwars. In space. No big deal. #StarWarsDay #Maythe4thBeWithYou pic.twitter.com/iG7Pn0Fvj6
— ISS Research (@ISS_Research) May 4, 2015
The Iconic TIE Fighter in Space
How about Tie Fighters? The iconic ship flown by The Empire has links to NASA as well. First, TIE is an acronym. “TIE” stands for “Twin Ion Engines”. Ion engine technology research done by NASA progressed to the point where many spacecraft utilize the engines. Ion engines don’t make sounds like in the Star Wars Movie in space, but they do work. A notable example is the Dawn spacecraft that traveled to the dwarf planet Ceres.
Compared with traditional chemical rockets, ion propulsion is faster, cheaper and safer:
- Faster: In deep space, Spacecraft powered by ion engines can go really fast. How fast? They can reach speeds up to 90,000 meters per second. That’s more than 201,000 mph! for those still using miles.
- Cheaper: When it comes to fuel efficiency, ion engines can reach more than 90 percent fuel efficiency, while chemical rockets come in much less. Traditional chemical rockets usually only about 35 percent efficient.
- Safer: Most rockets use highly explosive gases. Ion thrusters are fueled by nonreactive gases. Most of them use xenon, which is a non-toxic, chemically inert, odorless, tasteless, and colorless gas.
So why aren’t we using them for launching rockets? The downside of ION engines is they don’t produce a lot of thrust. To escape the Earth, you need to exert the energy all at once. Chemical rockets are good at that. (read more about NASA Tie Fighters)
Elon Musk and his rockets.
And then there is Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX. If you follow SpaceX, then you know that they not only have some of the most amazing rockets and spacecraft, but they also have some of the most awesome names. Elon’s first two launch vehicles were the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 rockets. I should not have to say it, but Falcon is a reference to the movie Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon. You can read some more about the interview with Ashle Vance, writer about the bestselling book on Elon Musk)
Did I miss any? List them in the comments!
There are many other references to Star Wars in space and science. Do you have a favorite one that I didn’t list? If so, please add it to the comments at the bottom.
About The Author
Bill D’Zio
Co-Founder at WestEastSpace.com
Bill founded WestEastSpace.com after returning to China in 2019 to be supportive of his wife’s career. Moving to China meant leaving the US rocket/launch industry behind, as the USA and China don’t see eye to eye on cooperation in space. Bill has an engineering degree and is an experienced leader of international cross-functional teams with experience in evaluating, optimizing and awarding sub-contracts for complex systems. Bill has worked with ASME Components, Instrumentation and Controls (I&C) for use in launch vehicles, satellites, aerospace nuclear, and industrial applications.
Bill provides consulting services for engineering, supply chain, and project management.
