Both have features and functions throughout and include details calling back to the real-life shuttle. So when you buy 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery, remember the roots of the LEGO Group and NASA’s collaboration.
7840 Space Shuttle Discovery-STS-31 was at a different scale to this model, but there are a few similarities between them. The LEGO Group have approached the influential mission of launching the Hubble Space Telescope in a very similar set. 2 – It’s the second model of the Space Shuttle Discovery The lack of zero-gravity meant that the LEGO designers needed something extra to keep the model’s position when on display, so came up with the elegant solution. Sure, you probably already know about the two included display stands for both the Space Shuttle Discovery and the Hubble Space Telescope, but did you know there’s a third in the set? In the image above you might spot the black sub-assembly holding up the telescope in a pose recreating the launch of the equipment. At $199, it's nearly twice as expensive as the Saturn V, despite a brick count that isn't much higher.3 – An extra stand is included for display The only thing I'm not so effusive about is the price. I had at least five "that's so cool!" moments with Discovery, which should be taken as a ringing endorsement of this set. The mark of a good Lego build, to me at least, is when you build a step, then stop and exclaim "that's so cool!" as you understand the mechanism or construction you're putting together. The undercarriage is spring-loaded, the elevons and rudder move, and it's solid enough to have decent swooshability. Over the past decade or so, Lego has adopted new building methods, sometimes known as SNOT (Studs Not On Top), that give designers much more freedom than vertically stacking bricks one atop another, and this set is a wonderful demonstration of that.Īlthough the set is aimed at adults-the box says 18+- Discovery has a decent amount of playability. STS-31 was a mission to launch Hubble, and so it is with Hubble that you begin, a build that was reminiscent of the construction techniques used in the Saturn V. The finished orbiter is a substantial 21.8 inches (55.46 cm) long with a 13.6-inch (34.6 cm) wingspan, and it lends itself well to reproduction in Lego bricks at this scale the space shuttle was covered in blocky tiles, after all. Lego has made a number of space shuttle sets over the years, but none has been as detailed as this 2,354-piece set. Discovery put the Hubble space telescope into orbit, and its crew even captured the event on IMAX cameras brought along for the ride. And earlier this April, Lego released the latest set to bear NASA's famous worm logo: space shuttle Discovery, as it was for 1990's STS-31 mission. This was an important mission, reaching the highest orbit for a space shuttle to date. Two years later, Lego followed up with the Apollo 11 lunar lander, and in 2020 it was the turn of the International Space Station. Back in 2017, the Danish toymaker brought out a highly detailed Saturn V- a model ably assembled in time-lapse by Ars' Eric Berger before its release. The ongoing collaboration between Lego and NASA continues to delight.