Filmmaker George Lucas, of Star Wars fame, is among NASA's VIP guests for today's shuttle launch.
Lucas is expected to be here, in part, because the original lightsaber used by the character Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy is aboard the space shuttle today. The iconic prop is getting a ride to orbit to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1977 release of the original "Star Wars" film (later renamed A New Hope as the fourth piece of a six-film series).
In the films, Skywalker and other Jedi Knights use the futuristic swords in a battle against the evil Galactic Empire.
Star Wars fans gathered at a Houston airport earlier this year as the lightsaber was handed over to NASA officials. It was on display at the Johnson Space Center's tourist complex through Labor Day before being shipped here to Florida for stowage on Discovery's middeck.
Among the other big names on the list of expected VIP guests include former New York Yankees baseball player and current broadcaster Bobby Mercer and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. Several members of Congress and foreign dignitaries are here as well.
Space news and analysis from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 
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