The Force was strong with the Columbia Space Initiative this past December, as a crew of 9 space lions joined members of FSAE to see the latest installment of the Star Wars saga in stunning IMAX 3D. Arriving in Times Square for our showtime at the bizarre hour of 2 in the morning, the Star Wars gang stayed sharp with the help of some Jedi mind tricks and caffeine. As we entered the theater with the throngs of New Yorkers fitted in Jedi garb, one couldn’t help but feel the Force pulsating in the air.

Indeed, The Force Awakens turned out to be one of the most incredible cinematic adventures for all of us, replete with moments that make the midichlorians tingle down your spine. The rowdy 2am theatergoers gave plenty of thundering ovations, and in hindsight the whole experience was more a Knicks game than a movie. Though not as scientifically or engineeringly detailed as, say, The Martian, The Force Awakens was an awesome reminder of what space stands for in the imagination of so many people around the world, and the type of thing that got many of us at CSI curious to learn about space in the first place (though rocket science isn’t as easy as they make it look like). Anyways, as we enter our second semester as a club, stay tuned to our many mission pages as we finish… what we started!

-James