Millennium Falcon
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Star Wars craft | |
 The Millennium Falcon takes off from Tatooine as seen in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope |
|
| Millennium Falcon | |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Corellian Engineering Corporation |
| Specification | YT series YT-1300 Transport |
| Type | Light Freighter |
| Length | 26.7 meters |
| Weapons | 2 Quad laser cannons, 1 Mounted Anti-Infantry Swivel Laser Cannon, Dymek Concussion Missiles, Tractor Beam Projector (optional) |
| Shield | N/A |
| Hull | N/A |
| Crew | Pilots (2) to (8) |
| Top Speed | 100 MGLT |
| Troop Capacity | N/A |
| Affiliation | Han Solo/Lando Calrissian |
| Cargo Capacity | Varies depending on modular configuration (up to 100 metric tons) |
| Passengers | 8 |
The Millennium Falcon is a fictional starship that first appeared in the original Star Wars film, A New Hope. It went on to play a major role in the two followup films (The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi respectively), and made a cameo in Revenge of the Sith. The Falcon is under the ownership of Han Solo, a rogue smuggler. It was once in the possession of Solo's close friend, Lando Calrissian. Piloted by Solo and his Wookiee friend Chewbacca, Solo won the ship from Lando Calrissian in a high-stakes game of sabacc. Lando had previously won the ship from an unknown person. The ship was chartered by Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker to deliver R2-D2 and the stolen Death Star plans to Alderaan. The ship is a heavily modified version of a YT-1300 Corellian Transport.
Contents |
[edit] History
When challenged by Obi-Wan about his ship's speed, Solo famously replied, "It's fast enough for you, old man." The ship is capable of attaining "point five past lightspeed."
Han's famous comment, that the vessel "made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs", seems a little incongruous, as a parsec is a measure of distance, not time. However, the factor that allowed Han to make the Kessel Run in record time was to cut extremely close to the Maw black hole cluster instead of taking the wide path around it. (see "Kessel Run" below).
At sublight velocities, the Millennium Falcon is not a particularly fast vessel; Imperial Star Destroyers have been able to keep up with her. However, the Falcon was considerably more maneuverable than Star Destroyers. An example of this is when Han Solo used the maneuverability to elude three Star Destroyers that were trying to block them in and seemingly made them collide with each other. The Falcon's true strength involves the skill of her crew and her extraordinarily fast superluminal speeds, to which no manned vessel is known to compare.
The cobbled-together nature of the ship presented many problems throughout the movies and the novels; systems were barely held together and apparently had many incompatibilities, a fact that didn't go unrecognized among the characters of the movies. "You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" was Princess Leia Organa's reaction at first sight of the Millennium Falcon, while Luke's appraisal of the Falcon was, "What a piece of junk!" During Imperial pursuit from Hoth the ship's technical difficulties—namely an inability to enter hyperspace—resulted in the ship and crew nearly being captured.
Years after the Battle of Endor it appeared that Han Solo and/or Chewbacca were able to resolve these difficulties, much to the relief of one Leia Organa Solo. The resolution of those problems may have involved a virtual rebuild of her internal operation systems; this has never been discussed in detail.
The modified Corellian freighter sports quad blasters startlingly reminiscent of World War II crew-operated turret machine guns, with the operator tracking targets optically (due to the high prevalence of electronic warfare in Star Wars) and swiveling along with the gun barrel. In Return of the Jedi, the ship is revealed to possess powerful armor-piercing missile weapons called "concussion missiles", which are illegal in the Star Wars universe for civilians (like smuggler pilot Han Solo) to possess. During the events surrounding the reborn Emperor Palpatine, the missile launchers were temporarily replaced by a giant lightning gun. Later refits, during her service as a New Republic diplomatic courier for the Skywalker-Solo family, who were highly placed in the New Republic in honor of their service to the Rebellion during the Galactic Civil War, included light turbolasers replacing her quad blasters. At least one pop-out repeating blaster is mounted to give some ground cover when the use of the heavier weapons is not warranted or possible.
The ship has been captured by the Death Star's tractor beam and searched by Imperial Stormtroopers, who miss the crew and passengers hiding in the smuggling holds, which are shielded against most scanning equipment. It has also been piloted through asteroid fields, and on one occasion (miraculously) outran the massive explosion of the second Death Star.
The ship played a vital role in both of the Death Star battles.
In Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, the Falcon had a brief onscreen cameo appearance, but as a brand new, freshly-built state-of-the-art spacecraft. It can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the screen docking at the spaceport as Obi-Wan and Anakin are returning Palpatine to the Senate building on Coruscant. However, Han Solo was most likely not the pilot in this cameo, due to the dating supported by the Star Wars Expanded Universe and the fact that in Revenge of the Sith, Chewbacca is still on Kashyyyk. Most likely, the owner of the Falcon previous to Lando Calrissian is the pilot. Other ships of its class appeared in Attack of the Clones (they are briefly seen at the Naboo spaceport).
In real life, the original model for the Millennium Falcon was changed at the last minute because it too closely resembled ships from the television series Space: 1999. The replacement is said to be based on a half-eaten hamburger held by George Lucas and the disused original design was further developed into the Corellian Corvette starship seen at the beginning of the first film. Starwars.com confirms the hamburger claim and also adds that Lucas referred to the cockpit of the Falcon as an olive on the side of a "flying hamburger".[1] Like many science fiction spacecraft, the Falcon's interior sets cannot actually physically fit within the exterior sets. Subsequent extended universe plans are consequently a compromise attempt at squeezing the interiors in (often with detriment to headroom).
[edit] Kessel Run
The Kessel Run is a pathway from planet Kessel past the dangerous Maw Black Hole Cluster, then through "The Pit" before finishing in a jump to light speed in the fictional Star Wars galaxy used frequently by smugglers in the transport of precious Glitterstim spice.
A well-known but confusing description of the Kessel Run is made by Han Solo in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope when he boasts to have made the run with the Millennium Falcon in "less than twelve parsecs." A parsec is a unit of distance, not a measure of time or speed (and in fact Attack of the Clones contains a scene in which a parsec is acknowledged as a unit of distance), although in the real universe the consequences of special relativity on spacetime allow for interchangeable units of time and space on an astronomic scale. Under special relativity, Lorentz contraction would shorten the length of the Kessel Run as observed by a vessel moving at fractional light speed. The faster the vessel, the shorter the Kessel Run distance and such a comment would make sense. However it is unknown how relativistic laws apply in the Star Wars universe, particularly as Han appears to be discussing hyper-luminal travel beyond the scope of relativity.
There has been much speculation regarding the Kessel Run comment. On his audio commentary of A New Hope, George Lucas finally commented on the oft discussed misinterpretation. Lucas explained that, in the Star Wars universe, traveling any distance through hyperspace requires careful navigation to avoid stars, planets, asteroids or any such obstacles. Since no long-distance journey can be made in a straight line, the "fastest" ship is the ship that can plot the most direct course through space, thereby traveling the least distance. This depends on the skill of the navigator and the sophistication of the ship's navigational computer.
In The Glove of Darth Vader, by Paul Davids and Hollace Davids, Han Solo tells Luke Skywalker, "In fact, I've made the Kessel Run in the Millennium Falcon in less than twelve standard time parts." Luke responds by saying, "You told me that the day I first met you, back in the cantina at the Mos Eisley spaceport on Tatooine."
In a Dark Horse Comics issue, "The Kessel Run," the Kessel Run that Han mentions is a scam that Lando uses to win money back off Han for losing his ship. Lando and a few friends trick Han into thinking if he did the Kessel Run quickly he would get much notoriety in the smuggler's circles. In the end he realizes he has been scammed and it is kind of an initiation for new smugglers.
The "Kessel Run" took place towards the end of the third book in the series of novels called "The Han Solo Trilogy." Han was delivering a shipment of spice from Kessel for Jabba the Hutt. Threatened with being boarded by an Imperial patrol, Han Solo had to jettison the spice near the Maw. When he went back to look for it the Imperial ships were waiting for him. A chase insued which led to the famous Kessel Run. After the chase Han looked at his gauges and was suprised to see that it had occured in less than twelve parsecs. Chewbacca didn't believe him and said that going so close to the black holes caused the instruments to malfunction.
[edit] Cameo appearances
- A model of the Millennium Falcon was used to create the top of a skyscraper for a scene in the film Blade Runner, also starring Han Solo actor Harrison Ford. The modelmaker described how to find it:
- "If you want to pick out the Falcon in that Hero Spinner landing sequence, look at the first of the two separate model shots making up that scene. The Millennium Falcon is right in the mid-foreground of the frame. In fact, the camera flies right over it during the beginning of that first shot. Just look for this little flashing blue Pan Am sign in the upper left of the frame at the start of that first shot, before the Hero Spinner starts coming in for a landing. The big, dark pointy building dead center in the foreground is the Millennium Falcon."
- The Falcon also appeared in Starship Troopers, attached to the aft side of the prominent tower of the Rodger Young, a la The Empire Strikes Back.
- In the 1996 movie Star Trek: First Contact, during the scene where Starfleet engaged the Borg, Industrial Light and Magic (contracted by Paramount Pictures to handle the special effects) slipped in a cameo appearance of the Millennium Falcon. [2]
- The Falcon made a cameo in the parking lot by the diner at the end of the spoof Spaceballs.
- The Falcon made an appearance in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
[edit] Trivia
- Joss Whedon credits the Millennium Falcon as one of his two primary inspirations for his short-lived television show Firefly.[3]
- Many toys have been made of the Falcon, but perhaps the most unusual is from Hasbro's Star Wars Transformers line. Here, Han and Chewie pilot robotic versions of themselves that merge into the Falcon.[4]
- In volume two of the manga series, Hellsing, Walter mentions the Millennium Falcon. This same scene occurs in the new Hellsing OVA.
- On the television series The Simpsons, Comic Book Guy drives an AMC Gremlin with a bumper sticker that reads "My other car is a Millenium [sic] Falcon".[5]
- In the manga series, Berserk, there is a story arc starting at volume 22 called the "Millennium Falcon" Arc. A PS2 game was made based on the same events.
- In the original model of the Millennium Falcon used to film the first three Star Wars movies, there is a tiny picture of a scantily clad woman hidden behind the pilot's seat, glued to the floor.
- In the scene where Chewbacca first enters the Falcon's cockpit in Episode IV, a small pair of hanging dice can be seen bumping against his head. These dice are missing in future cockpit scenes.
- The full-scale Millennium Falcon built for The Empire Strikes Back was created in a hangar by Marcon Fabrications in Pembroke Dock, west Wales. It weighed almost 23 tons and used compressed air hover pads (see Pneumatics) for movement around the set. Only half of the Falcon was used for Return of the Jedi; this was used in the filmed, but ultimately unused sand-scene sequence after the destruction of Jabba's barge, where the heroes return home. All other views of the Falcon were matte paintings (eg in the Rebel hanger, between Han and Lando) and models. The full-scale Falcon replica was scrapped at about this time.
- In the movie 'Blade Runner' a model of Millennium Falcon, built by one of crew members for his own amusement, was used as one of the futuristic buildings in the city of 2019 Los Angeles.
- In the book "Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code", Foaly says (through the C Cube) "judging from the ion trails, this building has been hit with more rays than the Millennium Falcon"
[edit] See Also
[edit] Notes
- ^ http://www.starwars.com/kids/activity/draw/f20050112/index.html
- ^ http://flare.solareclipse.net/cgi2/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001690;p=0
- ^ "What's in a Firefly" bonus feature, Serenity (2005) DVD, ISBN 1-4170-3050-X.
- ^ http://www.amazon.com/Star-DELUXE-TRANSFORMER-MILLENIUM-FALCON/dp/B000EMJ9Z6
- ^ http://www.snpp.com/episodes/AABF06
[edit] References
- The Han Solo Adventures: Han Solo at Star's End, Del Rey omnibus of "Han Solo at Star's End", "Han Solo's Revenge", and "Han Solo and the Lost Legacy", 1979. Brian Daley, ISBN 0-345-37980-2
- The Lando Calrissian Adventures: "Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu", "Lando Calrissian and the Flamewind of Oseon", and "Lando Calrissian and the Starcave of Thonboka", Del Rey omnibus edition, 1983. L. Neil Smith, ISBN 0-345-39110-1
- The Paradise Snare, 1st paperback printing, 1997. A. C. Crispin, ISBN 0-553-57415-9
- The Hutt Gambit, 1st paperback printing, 1997. A. C. Crispin, ISBN 0-553-57416-7
- Rebel Dawn, 1998. A.C. Crispin. ISBN 0-553-57417-5
- The Annotated Screenplays, softcover, 1997. George Lucas, Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, Laurent Bouzereau, ISBN 0-345-40981-7
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
- Dark Empire
- Dark Empire, trade paperback, 1993. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-56971-073-2
- Dark Empire II, trade paperback, 1st edition, 1995. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-56971-119-4
- Vector Prime, 1999. R. A. Salvatore, ISBN 0-345-42844-7
- Star Wars, Episode IV: A New Hope, Special Edition, audio commentary by George Lucas, DVD, 2004. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment
[edit] External links
- Millennium Falcon at the Star Wars databank
- Millennium Falcon on Wookieepedia: The Star Wars Wiki
- Millennium Falcon at Galactic Voyage
- A page (with images) describing where to look for the Millennium Falcon in Blade Runner
| Vehicles of the Rebel Alliance / New Republic | |
|---|---|
| Ground vehicles and repulsor craft | |
| Snowspeeder | |
| Starfighters | |
| X-wing | Y-wing | A-wing | B-wing | |
| Expanded Universe | |
| K-wing | E-wing | |
| Capital ships | |
| Mon Calamari Cruiser | Corellian Corvette | Nebulon-B Frigate | |
| Other | |
| GR-75 Medium Transport | Millennium Falcon | |
| See also | |
| Star Wars air vehicles | Star Wars aquatic vehicles | Star Wars ground vehicles | Star Wars starfighters | Star Wars support craft |
