In the world of literature, there is fiction and nonfiction, and within the field of novels, there is the subset of science fiction. Growing up, I enjoyed reading the Tom Swift Jr. novels written for a juvenile audience. This series had titles like Tom Swift and his Rocket Ship, Tom Swift and His Outpost in Space, and Tom Swift and his Triphibian Atomicar. These hardbound books about 200 pages cost only $1 in the 1950s and early 1960s. The books were published by Grosset & Dunlap, the same publisher of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew.
I transitioned to adult science fiction in my latter teens, reading Isaac Azimov, Robert A. Heinlein, Ben Bova and others. Because science fiction is just that, the reader can suspend disbelief, ignore the laws of physics and so much more. With science fiction, anything is possible and believable.
When George Lucas conceived Star Wars, he invented characters we empathized with, saw the stark contrast between good and evil, discovered aliens we never knew existed and traveled to distant galaxies at the speed of light. Here is a short list of topics within the world of Star Wars that truly reflect the key elements of science fiction,
Presence of gravity in space
Director Stanley Kubrick released the film 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. When the film transitions from primitive Earth to future space, we soon see the double-tier circular space station orbiting Earth. The circular-shape space station is slowly spinning to impart artificial gravity for its occupants.
Weightlessness is problematic in films in the Star Wars universe and the Mandalorian and Andor TV series. We don’t question the presence of gravity on the rebel ship fleeing the attacking Star Destroyer and the action that takes place for the storm troopers and Darth Vader to board the rebel ship. We are too caught up in all the action. The same is true for the other films and TV series. In fact, we don’t even question the presence of gravity in space, and that’s just fine.
Making the Jump to Light Speed
The Universe is so vast, it has to be measured in light-years—that is, light traveling at 186,000 miles per second for a year. traveling at the conventional and achievable speed of 25,000 mph with current liquid propellant rocket engine takes three days just to get to the Moon. It takes years for our space probes to reach the outer planets.
So what is Han Solo or Luthen Rael to do? Well, George Lucas solved that problem with spacecraft hyperdrives which permit acceleration to light speed, or even greater. However, making the jump to light speed isn’t gradual but instantaneous. The number of Gs imposed on the human body making the jump to light speed would kill them. But, like everything else in the world of science fiction, that does not happen. How else could you get to a galaxy far, far away?
Spacecraft Can Perform Sweeping Trajectories
When Star Wars was released in 1977, movie goers were introduced to the space equivalent of dog fights reminiscent of those in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. One fighter plane is in pursuit of another which is trying to evade the fighter on his tail with wing guns firing. The planes are making sweeping curved banking maneuvers, rolls and dives. The movies Top Gun and Top Gun Maverick bring this kind of flying into theaters.
These aerobatic maneuvers are possible because of the Earth’s atmosphere. The jets are able to make these sweeping arcs using their flaps and rudder. To state the obvious, in space there is no atmosphere. Spacecraft are only able to move point to point in a straight line, or trajectory. Course corrections are achieved with thrusters, but then the spacecraft continues in a straight line with no atmosphere to dissipate its speed.
Nevertheless, the X-wing and TIE-Fighters perform sweeping engagements, and even the Millennium Falcon despite its size and mass can maneuver like an FA/18 Hornet. These facts were lost on audiences around the world as they were busy eating popcorn.
No Vacuum in the Docking Bays
In Star Wars – A New Hope, Han Solo, Chewbacca, Luke Skywalker and Obiwan Kenobi aboard the Millenium Falcon go on a heroic mission to the Death Star to rescue Princess Liea. But then, Solo’s spacecraft is captured by the Death Star’s tractor beam and pulled into a specified docking bay. No doors open up on the Death Star to bring in the Millenium Falcon. Apparently, the entire docking bay is open to space. How is this possible? Well, if you have to ask…
We see similar scenes in the other Star Wars films, the Mandalorian and Andor. Somehow the vacuum of space—which can kill a human instantly—does not exist within the larger, receiving spacecraft docking bay. (This issue is accurately depicted in 2001 when Dave has to forcibly enter the Discovery One spacecraft without a pressurized suit and helmet). And on top of that, there is breathable air; how convenient. But again, all of this does not matter because it is Science Fiction. It would be a dull world without it.