Star Wars is 30 years old, and Hollywood props cupboards are full of useless (but very cool) old tat. What better way to highlight both these facts than to announce that the original "light sabre" from the Star Wars movies, as wielded by Mark Hamill, is to be sent to space on board the next space shuttle mission.
So, when Discovery blasts off in October (lightning, foamy insulation and astronaut sobriety tests permitting, of course) it will carry a little piece of Hollywood history with it.
More: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/28/light_sabre/
;)