What A Piece Of Junk: Everything You Need To Know About The Star Wars Millennium Falcon

What A Piece Of Junk: Everything You Need To Know About The Star Wars Millennium Falcon

“What a piece of junk” is how Luke Skywalker describes the Millennium Falcon when he first lays eyes on it in Star Wars: A New Hope. But for generations of Science fiction fans, the Millennium Falcon is one of the most iconic space ships in movie history.
The primary owners and commanders of this ‘piece of junk’ is Corellian smuggler Han Solo and his Wookiee first mate, Chewbacca. The Falcon as won in a card game called sabacc by Han from Lando Calrissian.

The famous ship has been responsible for some of the greatest victories of the New Republic and the Rebel Alliance despite her humble appearance. The vessel is a modified YT-1300F Corellian light freighter. The modifications made by Han Solo and Chewbacca has increased the fighters firepower, shielding abilities and speed.
Passed down to Han Solo from Lando Calrissian it was later stolen by Gannis Ducain following the Battle of Jakku who lost it to the Irving Boys.
When the Millennium Falcon reappears in Unkar Plutts Junk yard in The Force Awakens, it had been left abandoned for years. It was from here that Rey, Finn, 34 ABY and BB-8 steal the vessel to escape a First Order attack on the Niima Outpost.

As she was out of options, and no other ship was available Ray remarks “The garbage will do!”

It Made the Kessel Run In Less Than Twelve Parsecs

Han Solo famously made the Kessel Run in under twelve parsecs Millennium Falcon. This broke the previously held record of 18 parsecs demonstrating the improved performace of the Falcon after Hans and Chewies upgrades to the hyperdrive.
The Kessel Run is a route through hyperspace used by smugglers and ships carrying freight from the spice mines of Kessel. The 18 parsec route is used to avoid being caught by Imperial ships as spice is illegally shipped to areas south of the Si’Klaata Cluster.
The claim that Han Solo made the Kesel Run in under twelve parsecs is debated within the canon sources. It is thought as a boast by Obi-Wan Kenobi in  A New Hope: The Princess, the Scoundrel, and the Farm Boy where it is also described as a lie in the text.

While in Return of the Jedi: Beware the Power of the Dark Side the narration states that “Not every ship is created equal and the rebels have the ship that did the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs.”

In the 1976 revised draft for A New Hope Han Solo is described as offering misinformation with his statement:
 It’s the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs!
The claim is a means to impress Obi-Wan and Luke Skywalker. The note says:
 Ben reacts to Solo’s stupid attempt to impress them with obvious misinformation.

Millennium Falcon Dimensions

The length of the Millennium Falcon is 34.75 metres (114.0 ft). Although small, its modified hyperdrive makes it one of the fastest ships in the galaxy. This makes it perfect for smuggling as it can outrun Imperial Star Destroyers.
The sensor proof smuggling compartments made it a good choice for Obi-Wan Kenobi and Luke Skywalker during their rescue of Princess Leia Organa . When Imperial Storm troopers searched the ship at 0 BBY, Obi-Wan, Luke and the two droids were able to hide undetected in the smuggling compartments.

Millennium Falcon Speed

Han Solo clams that the Millennium Falcon can reach speeds of 0.5 faster than lightspeed. Originally a Corellian YT-1300f light freighter (designation YT-1300 492727ZED), the space ship was upgraded by Han Solo and Chewbacca.
“She’ll make point five past light speed. She may not look like much, but she’s got it where it counts, kid. I’ve made a lot of special modifications myself.”
Han Solo to Luke Skywalker
Due to various modifications of Falcon owners, the vessel retains very little of the original specifications. As a result, the Millennium Falcon can reach speeds that exceed any other ship in the galaxy.
However, these modifications have made the freighter more unreliable. Hence Princess Lia, in A New Hope, says to Han Solo and Luke:
 You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought …
And later in The Empire Strikes Back:
 This bucket of bolts’s never gonna get us past that blockade.

Millennium Falcon Cockpit

Rumour has it that the original design of the Millennium Falcon was based on a partially eaten hamburger. However the first designs were what became the Tantive IV which was used by Princess Leia Organa.
This original design looked too much like the vessel from Space: 1999, so a quick redesign was drafted by Joe Johnston who described the process:
 It was the quickest ship we’ve ever done. The Falcon was designed in one day. We took some components from the blockade runner, like the cockpit, and stuck it on the side of a big dish with some mandibles out in front.
The position of the cockpit has been pointed out by fans to be located too far to the right of the ship. It seems as though this position would create an obstruction from the ship body to the left.
However, a solution is presented in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: Incredible Cross-Sections. As a cargo carrying vessel, the mandibles will dock with a cargo unit for unloading. In this position the cockpit is far enough away from the containers to see ahead and to the right.

Spending time filming in the Millennium Falcon Cockpit, Harrison Ford described how Peter Mayhew wasn’t able to fit into the seat. He also revealed that there was issues with the switches:
The thing I remember is they purchased all of these toggle switches. Because we made the film on a budget, they hadn’t bought the ones with springs. So if in a scene you would flip up some switches, if you didn’t get out of the frame quickly enough they would go back down, because there were no springs. I think they solved that by the second film.
Take a 360 view of the Millennium Falcon cockpit here.

Millennium Falcon Hyperdrive

A hyperdrive is a system of propulsion that allows a ship to enter an alternative dimension of hyperspace. This enables it to travel the vast distances between stars.
Most star-fighters and short range craft lacked a hyperdrive. Rebel Alliance ships such as the X-wing and A-Wing star-fighters, were fitted with a hyperdrive and could make far reaching jumps.
Once the hyperdrive had become established, it was possible to create a galactic civilisation. The Old Republic were thus able to explore the galaxy expanding its inclusion of civilians from the Core Worlds.
The hyperdrive engine of spacecraft were rated by class. A class One hyperdrive made the Carrion Spike was the fastest ship in the Imperial Navy. The Imperial I-class Star Destroyer and other battle cruisers made use of the Class 2 hyperdrives.
This puts into perspective the unique engine of the Millennium Falcon. While the Desert Jewel of Nakari Kelen had an even faster hyperdrive of 0.8, The Millennium Falcon outperformed even this exceptional vehicle with a hyperdrive of 0.5.
You can read the complete article Wow! The Millennium Falcon Lego Set is Amazing! on the Geek Hut website.
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