LEGO replica of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope comes with the same complex folding design!

It’s easy to be amazed by the pictures captured by the James Webb Space Telescope while being completely oblivious to the sheer complex beauty of the telescope itself. For astronomer and LEGO builder @tonysmyuncle, the telescope itself represented a major leap in design and engineering, and he almost instantly fell in love with how complex yet ingenious it was. “I wanted to build a model to help others appreciate this incredible machine,” the LEGO builder said. “I hope this LEGO set will help builders and students worldwide understand the remarkable engineering that went into creating this enormous space telescope and learn the basics of how a telescope works.”

Designer: tonysmyuncle

The James Webb Space Telescope was so large that it had to be “folded” to fit within the rocket and “unfolded” after it was launched into space – a highly complicated (and expensive) action that required incredible amounts of precision and accuracy. “Just like the real JWST, this LEGO JWST model folds into a stowed position for launch, features all of the major moving components, and is roughly to scale with a standard LEGO Minifigure”, reads the project description on the LEGO Ideas forum. The replica even comes with the 18 iconic hexagon mirrors that make up the telescope’s light-gathering reflector module.

The miniature LEGO replica comes with every single conceivable component of the JWST, including even the secondary hinged mirror and that layered sun shield at the bottom. All of JWST’s major subsystems are incorporated, including the science instruments, and the propulsion, power, and communications subsystems. The model was designed to fold and unfold exactly like the real telescope, aiming at allowing LEGO builders to really understand and appreciate exactly how complicated and beautiful this marvel of engineering is!

The NASA’s JWST project currently has 3,466 votes on the LEGO Ideas forum. If it reaches 10,000 votes, LEGO will turn the fan-made idea into a box-set that consumers can buy. You can vote for the NASA’s JWST LEGO build here.

The post LEGO replica of the NASA James Webb Space Telescope comes with the same complex folding design! first appeared on Yanko Design.

NASA decommissions Spitzer Space Telescope after 16 years of service

NASA is flipping the switch on the Spitzer Space Telescope today. The observatory has made groundbreaking discoveries about the universe since its launch in 2003, from imaging some of the oldest stars in the universe to detecting the light reflected...

A lawsuit almost stalled NASA’s Cassini mission

Captain Scott Kelly wasn't kidding when he famously quipped that "space is hard". Even getting to the launch pad can prove to be a daunting challenge. Take the Cassini mission to study Saturn, for example. Despite an investment of $3.4 billion and ne...

Listening to starlight: Our ongoing search for alien intelligence

Six hours a day, seven days a week, for four straight months. That's how long radio astronomer Frank D. Drake pointed the 26-meter telescope at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) research facility in Green Bank, West Virginia, towards th...

Snow Cleaning used for Webb Space Telescope Mirrors


The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is a space observatory under construction by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency and scheduled to launch in October...

James Webb Space Telescope ready for its wings, on track for 2018 launch

James Webb Space Telescope ready for its wings, on track for 2018 launch

What's a spacecraft need wings for? Packaging, of course. The James Webb Space telescope relies on a 21 foot diameter backplane mirror to steady it, but the assembly needs to fit inside of a 16.5 foot fairing to ride the rocket to the stars. A tight fit, to say the least. Fortunately, NASA technicians have just finished the mirror backplate support structure, a folding wing assembly designed with to safely collapse the beryllium mirror during flight, and expand it again in orbit. "This is another milestone that helps move Webb closer to its launch date in 2018," remarked Geoff Yoder, the program's director. Now that the wing assembly is finished, the team can focus on the support fixture for the instrument model, which will complete major construction and allow technicians to connect the finished pieces. We'll miss old Hubble, sure, but we're happy to see its successor pulling things together all the same.

Filed under: , ,

Comments

Source: PhysOrg

Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again

Alt-week peels back the covers on some of the more curious sci-tech stories from the last seven days.

Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again and

All good things come to and end, they say. Thankfully, most bad things do, too. So while the rest of the world of tech is dealing with the fallout, and possible implications of patent law, over here in the wild party that is Alt, we're fist pumping at all the awesome weekly sci-tech fodder. For example, we've got a robo-nose that can sniff out nasties in the air, a 110-million-year-old footprint found in NASA's back yard, and not one, but two space stories to reflect on. There's a hidden joke in there too, come back once you've read through to find it. This is alt-week.

Continue reading Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again

Filed under: , ,

Alt-week 8.25.12: robotic noses, Nodosaurs and Space X launches again originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 25 Aug 2012 18:30:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments