Jack of Harts

Luke Spacebase became a central part of the United States Space Force’s return to space in the latter half of the Twenty First Century, and earned its now-official nickname during the first flight of an experimental space fighter. One of its operators asked for a report when communications were reestablished after boost stage. He transmitted as “Skywalker Base” and the pilot quickly responded, “Red Five, standing by.” Star Wars fans around the world celebrated the fact that they had beaten Star Trek to space when the exchange was inevitably leaked onto the networks. They were not entirely accurate on that point, but it was still considered a public relations win, and Luke Spacebase leadership chose to embrace the unplanned, by them, nickname. Though only after a grilling after-action counseling session with the operator and pilot in question about using unauthorized identification codes during high-profile missions.