Group wants US to build 'Death Star'

As the US teeters on the edge of a fiscal cliff, a group of concerned citizens is petitioning the government to build a Star Wars-like space station which will ensure America's superiority in space and act as an stimulus for the economy

The "space-superiority platform and weapon system", which bears a striking resemblance to the Death Star in the Star Wars saga, would boost job creation in the fields of construction, engineering and space exploration, the petition claims.

As concerns mount over China’s trade surplus with the US, just over 1,100 signatures have been added to the White House-hosted petition which calls on the government to fund and start building the station by 2016.

The Death Star first featured in George Lucas' epic 1977 hit science fiction film - Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

The spherical space station created by the evil Galactic Empire was capable of destroying whole worlds with a single devastating laser beam and was the target of the freedom fighting Rebel Alliance.

The petition is hosted by the White House’s We the People website which ensures that those petitions that attract sufficient support by December 14th will be reviewed by White House staff who will ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts before then issuing an “official response” which will then be emailed to all signatories.

At the time of writing, the petition needs 23,808 signatories to reach the threshold of 25,000 within the requisite time period.