To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first space shuttle mission, Lego has created what it calls its most “detailed reimagination” of the Space Shuttle Discovery to date.
Set to be released for sale on April 1, the 2,354-piece Space Shuttle Discovery model was developed in collaboration with NASA and is expected to retail for €179,99 ($199,99/£169.99).
The 1:70 scale replica features a number of details including both a flight deck and middeck, functional payload doors, landing gear, and elevons, and a working rudder that can be split to replicate the shuttle’s air break.
In addition to celebrating the 40th anniversary of STS-1, the model also commemorates the launch of STS-31 with the addition of a Hubble Space Telescope model.
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched aboard Discovery in 1990. Although an issue with its mirror initially appeared catastrophic, following several service missions it has gone on to make numerous contributions to the scientific community including assisting in determining a more accurate estimation for the age of the universe.
Lego’s recreation of Hubble is made up of bricks coated with silver ink enabling the replication of the telescope’s iconic appearance. The model is composed of the most silver bricks ever included in a Lego set and features a functional aperture door and deployable solar arrays and communications antenna. It also features a removable trunk that mimics an element of the telescope that was upgraded during a service mission.
The Lego Space Shuttle Discovery set is the latest in a line of highly-detailed space models the Danish toymaker has released in the last three years.
In 2019, Lego released the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander set to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic mission. Last year, the toymaker released the International Space Station set to celebrate the 20th year of continuous human occupation of the orbiting laboratory.
