Screw Together Your Own NASA Space Shuttle

You ever catch yourself staring at the sun and daydreaming about building your own rocket ship? Well, how about this NASA Space Rocket Deluxe Construction Kit? The 134-piece kit includes a bunch of plastic and metal bits that, when assembled correctly, resemble the Space Shuttle atop its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. To infinity and beyond!

Available from Firebox for $43, the kit comes with a medium difficulty rating, so it isn’t for people who can’t tell the difference between a hex key and their house keys. Everyone else should be fine though.

I just built one, and if there’s any proof NASA should pick me to be the first person to send to Mars, I think this is it. I mean, sure, it’s missing a wing and I have a bunch of other bits and pieces left over, but I also didn’t follow the directions. And I’m exactly what NASA is going to need if we’re going to survive on the red planet: an outside-the-box thinker.

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Giant LEGO Space Shuttle Can Actually Fly

Many fans fondly remember LEGO set #1682, the Space Shuttle Launch. It was released 27 years ago, and is a classic. Well, last month Adam Woodworth created a tiny drone version of LEGO’s shuttle that could fly indoors, which was cool enough, but now he has created a larger version that can fly like an RC plane.

This version flies pretty well. Woodworth is actually an aerospace engineer, so it is no wonder it takes to the sky so easily. This shuttle is five times as large as LEGO’s original, and its made from 9-millimeter-thick foam sheets instead of hundreds of plastic bricks, which would be way too heavy. The motors were mounted to the moving elevons on its wings, which gives it better maneuverability in the air.

NASA needs to bring back the shuttle program, but this time it should build its ships from LEGO.

[via Sploid]

Guy Made His LEGO Space Shuttle Fly

We love to make LEGO builds around here, but when an aerospace engineer plays with LEGO, he makes them fly. I’m talking about engineer Adam Woodworth, who made his LEGO Space Shuttle lift off.

Set #1682, aka Space Shuttle Launch, was released way back in 1990. It is a a classic. But actual LEGO blocks aren’t exactly lightweight, so Adam rebuilt the entire set from scratch, using foam blocks. Check it out in action:

The frame is made from one-millimeter foam and weighs about 2.5 grams. He made the LEGO studs on top using a hole punch and then gluing each one in place so that it is light enough to take off with three tiny propellers on its underside.

Seriously, I can’t wait for LEGO to offer some sets that fly, because this is awesome.

[via Sploid]

LEGO Space Shuttle Slips the Surly Bonds of Tiny Earth

The Space Shuttle was awesome. Granted, there were some tragic accidents during the Shuttle program that cost the lives of astronauts, but overall the program was a raging success. OliveSeon created a LEGO tribute to the Space Shuttle, and it is awesome.

It’s not just sitting around. This shuttle is in mid-lift-off, sitting on twin pillars of yellow plastic and plenty of white, fluffy brick smoke at the bottom.

This may be the coolest LEGO Space Shuttle I have seen. I think the smoke makes it even more awesome than the one we talked about that was on the giant crawler thingy that carried the Shuttle to the launch pad. What do you think?

This LEGO Space Shuttle Is out of This World

NASA’s Space Shuttle program is sadly, no more. But that doesn’t mean we can’t honor it in LEGO. The program helped to further space exploration, and many of us have fond memories of watching shuttle launches and landings at school. Those were the days. This LEGO Space Shuttle captures all of the nostalgia of the period.

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LEGO builder Lia Chan created this amazing tribute to the program. The intricate model is a recreation of the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A. It includes the launch platform, the Space Shuttle Atlantis, and the crawler system. It is simply magnificent. These images are almost as good as seeing the real thing.

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Makes me want to watch a shuttle launch again.

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[via Brothers Brick via Nerd Approved]

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