PHYS-1040

Professor: Ahn
Steven Davis
November 20, 2017

Star Wars: Rogue One, Science Fact or Just Science Fiction

Growing up as a kid I would love to watch Star Wars movies and I still enjoy it to this
day. I always dreamed about what it would be like to travel in space, have a laser gun and to be
on the run from the Empire. Stuff that dreams are made of right? In this paper, I am going to
investigate the possibility of some of the ideas portrayed in Star Wars. For example, I want to
determine if we can build a laser with enough power for space combat. Furthermore, I want to
discuss robotics and the role they might play in interplanetary space travel.

The movie, Star Wars: Rogue One is about a rouge group of rebel fighters trying to get
the plans that hold the key to destroying The Death Star. In this movie the main cast travels
through space and encounters many enemies. One of the main sources of weapons used when
encountering enemies is the laser gun. The movie is based on the idea that travel in space is
possible and common. One of my favorite main characters is a rebel crew member who is a
robot. He has his own personality and opinions, which makes the movie more enjoyable and
funny to watch. As I watch this movie I begin to ponder on the possibilities of this science
fiction movie being a reality.

My first critique is the possibility of space travel. In all of the Star Wars movies space
travel is a reality. The movie takes place on many different types of planets, all unique and
original. Many people have wondered at the possibility of space travel. Is it even possible?
Space travel has become, somewhat, of a hot topic lately. Currently NASA is working on a way
to send people to Mars. Mars is considered a relatively close planet to Earth, unlike the kind of
space travel that takes place in the movie. In the movie they travel to planets that are across
entire galaxies. One of the biggest issues we have is that we do not currently have an engine
that can travel that great of a distance at a fast enough speed. Currently the fastest man made
object is the Voyager 1. The Voyager 1 travels at a speed of 38,610 mils per hour (mph). It
began its journey in 1977 and has only covered 1/600th of a light-year in 30 years. At this
current speed it will not reach the closest star for another 80,000 years. Even at this astonishing
speed it is nowhere close to reaching the speed of light or the nearest solar system. The closest
solar system to Earth is Proxima Centauri; 4.24 light-years away. Now add human travel to the
mix and we have even more extreme complications. Now that we have humans involved in
space travel we have to start calculating how much food and air needs to be on the space craft.
This is currently one of the biggest issues that NASA is having with sending a human to Mars.
The trip to Mars will take nine months. That means packing nine months worth of food, water,
and air. In order to travel long distances in space the craft needs to be light in weight. Packing
all of the necessities will add a tremendous amount of weight to the space craft. There are
many other hurdles that NASA is struggling to overcome, such as, the vacuum of space, small
objects that could hit and damage a space craft, and space radiation. Basically at this point in
time space travel is possible, but only for short distances. The kind of travel that takes place in
the Star Wars: Rogue One movie is not possible at this time or in the foreseeable future.

My second critique is to determine if we can build a laser with enough power for space
combat. In the movie the battles are fought with laser guns. These guns are light and compact
and make cool sounds. In the documentary series called, The Universe: Space Wars, they
address this concept in detail. Lasers move at the speed of light, making them hard to defend.
Lasers come in many forms that result in different effects on different materials. Most lasers
that are visible to the human eye have varying colors. In the movie the Empire has green lasers
and the Rebels have red lasers, these colors help the audience differentiate between the two
teams. In reality the color of the lasers are based on the lasers frequency. In fact, some lasers,
such as the infrared laser is invisible to the naked eye. In the movie we observe the laser guns
shooting in short beams or bursts. In reality the lasers would be a constant stream, connecting
the gun to the direct target. As long as you were holding the trigger down the laser would
continue. Finally, lasers that are strong enough to do damage to something would take a
tremendous amount of power to create making the laser gun not likely to be the best source of
weapon used during space travel.

My final critique is to explore robotics and the role they might play in interplanetary
space travel. In the movie there are many different robots that can think for themselves and
interact with other beings. They are capable of making decisions, communicating, and even
making jokes. The idea of modern robots has been around for almost a century. In 1928 one of
the first humanoid robots was made by a man named W.H. Richards, this robots frame was
constructed of an aluminum body, eleven electromagnets, and one motor. In the movie the
robots are almost human like, they have their own personalities and are capable of making
connections to the characters around them. Currently, in Saudi Arabia, a robot named Sophia is
the first robot that has been granted official citizenship. This is a big step in having robots that
act and think as humans do. Sophia looks human in the face, but currently lacks the body that
can move around. She was created then activated in April of 2015. Her face has been molded
and created to mimic Audrey Hepburn. This robot has artificial intelligence, visual data
processing, and facial recognition. The robot can imitate human facial gestures and have simple
conversations. We are still not building robots quite as human like as in the Star Wars movies,
but Sophia proves that we are on the path to accomplishing this. In the future we may see
robots capable of piloting space craft, making travel in space more possible.

In conclusion, the kind of space travel that is portrayed in the movie is not possible with
the current technology we possess. Laser guns could be created, but unlikely to be used for
small hand held weapons. Finally, we are making great gains with our robots and AI
development. With the evidence that I have explored concerning these topics, I have concluded
that Star Wars: Rouge One is more science fiction loosely based on science than scientific fact.




 Works Cited
Gannon, Megan. How NASA Could Help Humanity Make 'Interstellar' a Reality. 10 November
2014. 18 November 2017. <https://www.space.com/27698-interstellar-nasa-real-
science.html>.
NASA. NASA's Journey to Mars. n.d. <https://www.nasa.gov/content/journey-to-mars-
overview>.
The Universe: Space Wars. Perf. Erik Thompson. Flight 33 Productions. 2009. YouTube.
Weller, Chris. Meet the first-ever robot citizen a humanoid named Sophia that once said it
would 'destroy humans'. 27 Oct 2017. 15 November 2017.
<http://www.businessinsider.com/meet-the-first-robot-citizen-sophia-animatronic-
humanoid-2017-10>.