Far out?

Has anyone ever heard of Dragonstar? It's a very fun mod to DnD. I was toying with the idea of this campaign taking place on one of the planets in the outter fringe. If so then around level 10 the players will learn about this when they either find some technology or encounter an "alien".
Fun stuff either way.

"On the pedistal in front of you is what appears to be a oddly craftedcrossbow. You can not figure out where to insert the bolts though. This itemis heavy, 20 lbs, and seems to be made out of a metal that you can'tidentify. Even the dwarf and gnome seemed stumped by this. The gnome howeverwants to touch it!"

Of course item would be a plasma rifle with around 20 shots left in the battery. I would then have to scatter more tech items around the world for them to find and eventually take them off world to expand the playing universe. Any thoughts on this approach?