White House rejects construction of 'Death Star'

ISTANBUL

The new Star Wars comic is displayed at Fat Jack?s Comicrypt, Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013, in Philadelphia. AP photo

The White House has rejected a petition on its website asking the federal government to secure resources and funding and begin constructing a Death Star by 2016.

The Death Star, officially called the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station, appeared in the fictional Star Wars movies and was capable of destroying a planet with one shot of its super laser.

Paul Shawcross, chief of the White House Office of Management and Budget’s science and space branch, gave a number of reasons for not building a Death Star:

1. The construction of the Death Star has been estimated to cost more than $850,000,000,000,000,000. We’re working hard to reduce the deficit, not expand it.

2. The Administration does not support blowing up planets.

3. Why would we spend countless taxpayer dollars on a Death Star with a fundamental flaw that can be exploited by a one-man starship?

In Star Wars, the Death Star was destroyed by Luke Skywalker after it destroyed Princess Leia's planet. Shawcross was referencing this part of the movie.   

The petition in support of constructing the Death Star garnered nearly 35,000 signatures and was posted on the White House petition site in November. The White House is obliged to respond to petitions on its site that gather more than 20,000 signatures.