Space Center Houston

After an historic six million mile journey Discovery has returned to Earth! During its stay at the International Space Station, the STS-120 crew continued the construction of the station. The crew did four spacewalks at the station. During the third spacewalk, the crew installed the solar array pair. The fourth spacewalk was changed during the mission so that the crew could repair a torn solar array. Following the successful repair work, the crew was able to fully deploy the solar array. Discovery also welcomed a new station crew member, Flight Engineer Daniel Tani.

Discovery was also carrying the coolest space artifact ever, Luke Skywalker's original Jedi lightsaber - the famous movie prop from the Star Wars Saga journeyed aboard space shuttle Discovery. All to celebrate the legendary film series 30th anniversary.

We were all excited to get the call from NASA to be part of the launch of the shuttle Discovery," said Star Wars creator George Lucas. "Star Wars is set in an entirely made-up galaxy, so knowing that a small part of Star Wars is speeding through our own galaxy is pretty amazing," Lucas said, adding, "I did make sure to tell them not to turn the lightsaber on up there."

Wakeup calls are a long-standing tradition of the NASA program. Each day during the mission, flight controllers in the Mission Control Center will greet the crew with an appropriate musical interlude. On Day 14 of the Discovery mission, the Mission Control Center sent out a really long distance dedication to Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski prior to his spacewalk. The wake-up call started with the theme music from the film.

Mission Control Center: Good morning Discovery! A special good morning to you today Scott as you head out the hatch one more time.

Mission Specialist Scott Parazynski: Thank you so much, Shannon. That was a great, great way to wake-up. I just have to say, "Luke, I'm your father. Use the force Luke." That's music from my son, Luke. I'll be thinking about him today and the rest of my family as I go out and do this wonderful spacewalk with my good buddy Wheels; and all the great support from the rest of my crew; ROBO on the robotic arm; and Dan Tani; and all the rest of the folks inside here; and of course the amazing team on the ground. This is going to be a big day for NASA. Thanks.

Mission Control Center: Discovery, we agree. We are all looking forward to today.

The Jedi lightsaber will now make its way back to NASA's Space Center Houston and will be part of an exciting new exhibit that will showcase a collection of famous Star Wars movie props and a full-size X-wing starfighter through Jan. 1. Be sure to check your e-mail or login at spacecenter.org for information on the arrival ceremonies!

The messages to the space shuttle crew that were collected online will be placed onto a CD, which will be presented to the astronauts at the official public debriefing at NASA's Space Center Houston after their return.