When LEGO and NASA put their heads together, a stellar result must be created. Just like in the case of the new model of the Discovery space shuttle, on which the famous Danish manufacturer cooperated with the American space agency. In addition, the ceremony was performed by the most professional person – Kathy Sullivan, an American astronaut and crew member who launched the Hubble Telescope into orbit aboard the actual Discovery. The cube replica of the shuttle and its cargo will land in the LEGO online e-shop on April 1.
LEGO introduced its new model on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the space shuttle’s first flight into space. In the morning of April 12, 1981 – a day exactly twenty years after Yuri Gagarin was the first man to launch aboard the Vostok-1 – the Columbia launchers launched an Auxiliary launch rocket from the Kennedy Space Center on the STS-1 jubilee mission.
Columbia was followed by Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavor, and with them countless milestones in astronautics. As part of the cooperation with the Russian space program, they regularly visited the Mir station. This experience was then invaluable as they helped build the International Space Station. They also launched the first American woman into space. But thirty years of service also brought tragedy in the Columbia and Challenger crashes.
The Discovery spacecraft model was introduced by Kathryn Sullivan, a member of the STS-31 crew
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However, Atlantis, Endeavor, and Discovery continued to serve faithfully. The end of the space shuttle chapter in NASA’s history came in 2011 with the launch with the serial designation STS-135. Of all the missions, Discovery served the most of them, a total of thirty-nine times. He thus went down in history as the vessel with the largest number of launches into space, in total he spent a year and a day in it. And now, thanks to the cooperation between LEGO and NASA, he has received a plastic honor.
LEGO has invited Kathryn Sullivan, a former American astronaut and scientist who has participated in three missions aboard the Challenger, Discovery and Atlantis, to officially launch the model. As a member of the crew of the first shuttle, in 1984 she even became the first American to go into orbit on a “space walk” into a cosmic vacuum.
However, it was her mission with Discovery that became the most famous and that the new set represents. Coincidentally, 31 years ago, the flight STS-31 launched the Hubble Space Telescope, which astronomers use to track our solar system and billions of light-years away stars and galaxies. “When I saw the model, I liked to remember the launch of the telescope. It was the peak of my career. “ he says Sullivan. For fans of colored cubes, Discovery can become the highlight of their collection.
No rocket science
There is usually no rocket sentence to build a model from Lego thanks to precise and clear instructions, but the designers of the plastic Discovery still have a bit more demanding work than with classic kits. To complete the set, it is necessary to fold 2,354 cubes. Which is significantly less than, for example, the recently released Roman Colosseum with a record 9,000 pieces, but still enough for the set to be designed for adult toys and carry the label 18+.
Once assembled, however, the builders will be rewarded with a 55-centimeter long and, as far as possible at a scale of 1:70, a faithful replica of the shuttle. “I am very happy with the model. I’m excited about all the little details that correspond to reality. Whether it’s a module for the crew, which was used to sleep as a dining room, or individual parts of the telescope, “ describes Sullivan. “All space and kit fans can learn more about space exploration and the STS-31 mission,” he said. adds.
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LEGO Discovery is a faithful replica of a real machine in a 1:70 scale
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The Lega space shuttle, like its slightly larger model, is equipped with an opening cargo space with a handling arm, movable flight control surfaces, so-called elevons, but also a retractable landing gear for a similarly smooth landing as the real Discovery showed after five days in orbit. Thanks to the removable elements, you can even look into the miniature cockpit and crew cabin.
The Hubble Space Telescope model can then be left folded in the cargo hold, but for the ultimate space experience, it will certainly be better to launch it into orbit, expand the solar panels and open the telescope cover. In addition, both the space shuttle itself and the space telescope can be placed on separate stands with an information plaque.
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Thanks to the model, you can look into the space for the shuttle crew
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The kit also includes the Hubble Telescope, which Discovery has just launched into orbit
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The Discovery is not the first model to show astronautics in a more realistic presentation than the legendary retro astronauts playing in all colors or their more modern successors. LEGO introduced last year International Space Station (ISS), although of course not on a scale comparable to the STS-31 mission kit.
Return to the atmosphere and landing in the official Lega e-shop are scheduled for April 1. Fortunately, NASA’s billion-dollar budget for the purchase of a scale model of the Discovery space shuttle will not be needed, the collector’s item will be sold for 4,699 crowns.
And if the miniature model inspires you to see a full-size space shuttle, Discovery will enjoy a well-deserved break in the stellar company of famous airplanes and spaceships at the National Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics in Washington.
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The folded shuttle is over half a meter in length
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