Millennium Falcon

Overview:

A heavily modified Correlian YT-1300 freighter, the Millennium Falcon is one of the most iconic ships in film history. Capable of 1.5 times light speed and ideal for smuggling, the ship has changed hands many times during it's life, most notably from Lando Calrissian to Han Solo, who won it in a card game (Sabacc). Han, like many pirate captains, came to think of his ship as an important part of himself, often referring to it as "she" or "baby." He was visibly saddened when he felt he might never see the ship again prior to the assault on the second Death Star.

After Han Solo accepted a charter to the doomed planet of Alderaan, the Falcon wound up being tractor beamed into the first Death Star, escaping and later taking part in it's destruction. It's journey with the Rebel Alliance left it somewhat the worse for wear in the coming months, leading to a serious need of repairs. Unfortunately, Han and Chewbacca attempted these while on the ice planet, Hoth, and were unsuccessful in completely repairing the ship prior to the invasion of the Empire. The result was a harrowing escape through asteroids and most of the Imperial Fleet, culminating in the ship landing at the Cloud City of Bespin. There, it's hyperdrive engines were finally repaired, only to be deactivated by Imperial agents. Fortunately, R2D2 managed to discover this and correct the problem later, saving the day yet again (see R2's character page for more details of his heroism).

During Han's time frozen in carbonite, Lando and Chewbacca used the ship to ascertain his whereabouts. Following Han's rescue, the ship came under his possession once again, though he did loan it to Lando to use during the assault on the second Death Star. Lando managed to return the ship in one piece, though without it's satellite dish. It is generally assumed that General Han Solo later replaced it... generally (if only so he could pirate more satellite TV, though this is entirely speculative).

Trivia

• The original design for the Millennium Falcon was actually the ship that is now known as the Tantive IV, the Rebel blockade runner that appears in the opening moments of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. The new design was based on a hamburger with a bite out of the front (for the "tongs") and an olive on the side (i.e., the cockpit).
• The full sized version of the ship was only built in it's entirety for Empire Strikes Back. Only about 3/4 of it was built for A New Hope (all the production could afford) and a matte painting was used in Return of the Jedi.
• The Ultimate Lego Collector's edition of the Millennium Falcon is the single largest set Lego has ever produced, with 5,195 pieces.
• Perhaps the most famous piece of retconning in sci-fi history, Han claims that the Falcon "made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs." A parsec is a unit of distance, not time, but George Lucas later explained away the mistake, saying that when all ships move faster than light, what matters is how accurately you can chart around stars, nebulae and planets, taking the shortest route to your destination, such as 12 parsecs. Well played sir, well played...
• For the curious, a parsec is about 3.26 light years or 19 trillion miles, so Han made the Kessel run in under 39.12 light years or 228 trillion miles.