– Once built the most complex flying machine ever, made up of more than 2.5 million moving parts, you can now assemble your own model of NASA’s space shuttle using just 2,354 pieces.
LEGO on Monday (March 22) unveiled its new NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set, which mimics its full-size replica in surprising detail, but does so since it was configured for its most famous and historic historical mission: the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope.
“I’ve always liked that combination of very compact, almost miniature, but very beautiful detail, and I think that’s exactly what reminds me of the Hubble model inside this group,” astronaut Kathy Sullivan said in an interview with Collect Space.
And she will know. Sullivan flew as a mission expert on Discovery’s STS-31 mission in 1990, giving him a front row seat for the observatory’s deployment.
“I didn’t know what to expect in terms of how big the Discovery would be,” Sullivan said of his first time seeing the new LEGO set. “It’s like about two feet long. It’s a really impressive size.”
Designed with adult builders in mind, the Lego NASA Space Shuttle Discovery packs it in great detail in a two-foot (0.5m) package. Deploys landing gear, control surfaces on the wings (aliphons) move and payload bay doors are open to reflective radiators, canaderm robotic manipulators, Ku-band antennas and video cameras to monitor activities. Out.
“Translating this into LEGO has been an exciting challenge,” Milan Madge, who led the set design for the Denmark-based toy company, said in a statement. “In a real vehicle, every inch of space is used intelligently. Normally, in the LEGO model we can rely on the size to accommodate this structure that holds the whole set together, but on the Discovery space shuttle we needed a build. Simple exterior And an interior capable of capturing payloads. “
It will not only open the cargo bay. The flight deck with crew cabins, orbiter control panels and crew seats opens to reveal. Below that, the midcake includes the crew’s equipment locker and the airlock leading to Payload Bay.
“And everyone I know, Bruce [McCandless] And I present it inside the aerolock, where we were stuck when Hubble was deployed, “Sullivan said with a laugh,” so I’m going to let the underlying modeler decide if there are two astronauts locked inside the airlock. Were on Discovery on the day of deployment. “
Sullivan was also surprised to learn that this model featured not only the stabilizer- or tail-mounted speed brakes, but also the bilors, the control surfaces on the wings of the orbiter.
“A lot of people look at the rear edge of the shuttle’s wing and the back of the plane’s wing as a traditional elevator like you,” she said. “On the space shuttle, it’s a combination of an elevator and an ailron, called an elevator. And so I thought, let’s see if they’ve got an elevation – they’re working against each other. And they’ve got that right. . “
“And you don’t just have to handle the elevators. In a very clever turn. You can twist the center’s main engine bell and it will push the Elephants backwards,” Sullivan said.
Similar attention to detail was given to the LEGO model of the Hubble Space Telescope, which can be placed in Discovery’s payload bay or displayed on its own inserted stand.
“However this is a bit of an anacronist [detail]Sullivan, whose book “Hubbleprints on Hubble” details the history of the space telescope as well as his own story, said: “They are getting glitter at the front end by the final servicing crew.” You can also see if they represent the lens if you look at the front of it. It’s really, really super. “
Produced to celebrate the upcoming 40th anniversary of the first space shuttle mission, the LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery set will retail for 199 199.99 when it goes on sale on April 1 at LEGO stores and on LEGO.com.
While supplementing the set, members of the LEGO VIP Loyalty Program will also be able to redeem 1,800 points to receive a LEGO model kit based on Discovery’s second payload: the Ulysses Space Probe. Deployed in 1990, Ulysses’ primary goal was to study the sun.
In addition, from April 18, LEGO stores across the country will display real-time images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, which have been translated into LEGO form.
