Vehicles:MillenniumFalcon

Star Wars History: From Exar Kun to Luke Skywalker and beyond

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Millennium Falcon

Vehicle Type: Ship
Ship Type: Corellian Freighter
Owner: Han Solo

   
   Solo: "Fast ship?" You've never heard of the Millenium Falcon?
   Kenobi: Should I have?
   Solo: It's the ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs.

These were the words spoken by Han Solo to Ben Kenobi at their first meeting on Tatooine. Han speaks of his prior smuggling days, when he was carrying spice from the mines of Kessel. Even though a parsec is a unit of distance, rather than time, Han is bragging about the speed of his ship. The Kessel Run is filled with Black Holes and other nasty obstructions, so to go directly through it is suicide unless the pilot is extremely skilled. Of course, going around would require more distance, and thus time. Han states that his skill as a pilot, and the speed of his ship, were able to make it straight through the Kessel Run, in a shorter distance that other pilots would have been able to take.

The Millennium Falcon was originally owned by Lando Calrissian, but was lost in a game of Sabacc (a card game) to Han Solo. Normally used as a smuggling ship, it has several secret compartments to hold spice or other illegal substances.

Until Han met up with Luke Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi on that fateful day in Mos Eisley, he was essentially a mercenary and smuggler. After assisting Kenobi and Skywalker, Han became a general in the Rebel Alliance. The Millennium Falcon saw many battles throughout the course of the Galactic Civil War, and was used for diplomatic missions after the New Republic was founded.

References:

Star Wars: A New Hope. (1977). 20th Century Fox.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. (1980). 20th Century Fox.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983). 20th Century Fox.