Farewell, Chewbacca: Astronaut Honors Peter Mayhew of 'Star Wars' in Space

NASA astronaut Nick Hague honored actor Peter Mayhew, the original Chewbacca of "Star Wars," with a photo memorial on the International Space Station on May 8, 2019. (Image credit: NASA/Nick Hague via Twitter)

"Star Wars" fans on Earth aren't the ones mourning the death of actor Peter Mayhew, who portrayed the iconic Wookie Chewbacca.

NASA astronaut Nick Hague on the International Space Station honored the late actor, who died April 30, in a way only astronauts can: with a photo tribute above planet Earth.

"Honoring Peter Mayhew (also known as Chewbacca) up here on Space Station," Hague wrote on Twitter Wednesday (May 8). "Thank you Peter for inspiring generations of explorers."

Hague added a photo printout of Mayhew in full Chewbacca garb, with only his head uncovered, floating in the space station's Cupola (a 7-window observation module). A brilliant blue Earth shines behind the photo, as do the gold solar arrays of a visiting Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo ship.

Mayhew died last week at age 74. Standing 7 foot 3 inches tall, he originated the role of Chewbacca in the original "Star Wars" film trilogy, and revisited the role in the "Star Wars Holiday Special," "Revenge of the Sith" and "The Force Awakens."

A memorial service for friends and family will be held on June 29, with a memorial for fans early December at EmpireCon in Los Angeles. Mayhew is survived by his wife, Angie, and three children.

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Tariq is the Editor-in-Chief of Space.com and joined the team in 2001, first as an intern and staff writer, and later as an editor. He covers human spaceflight, exploration and space science, as well as skywatching and entertainment. He became Space.com's Managing Editor in 2009 and Editor-in-Chief in 2019. Before joining Space.com, Tariq was a staff reporter for The Los Angeles Times covering education and city beats in La Habra, Fullerton and Huntington Beach. In October 2022, Tariq received the Harry Kolcum Award for excellence in space reporting from the National Space Club Florida Committee. He is also an Eagle Scout (yes, he has the Space Exploration merit badge) and went to Space Camp four times as a kid and a fifth time as an adult. He has journalism degrees from the University of Southern California and New York University. You can find Tariq at Space.com and as the co-host to the This Week In Space podcast with space historian Rod Pyle on the TWiT network. To see his latest project, you can follow Tariq on Twitter @tariqjmalik.

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