Announcement: LEGO Launch The New NASA Discovery Space Shuttle

LEGO JOINS FORCES WITH FORMER ASTRONAUT DR. KATHY SULLIVAN TO LAUNCH NEW LEGO® NASA SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SET

LEGO 10283 – NASA Discovery Space Shuttle

RRP AUD $299.99 – CA $269.99 – EUR €179.99 – UK £169.99 – USA $199.99
2,354 pieces
Available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores from 1st April 2021.

The Set

The LEGO NASA Space Shuttle Discovery is made up of 2,354 pieces and is amazingly detailed in a true reflection of its full-size counterpart. Complete with functional landing gear, and payload bay doors that open one after the other. The doors also feature reflective stickers to mimic the cooling radiators found on the real shuttle orbiter.

At the rear of Discovery is housed the three main engines used for launch into orbit. These are flanked on either side of the tail by smaller engines designed for in-orbit manoeuvres. And for deorbit and re-entry into the atmosphere at the end of the mission.

The flight control surfaces on the back edge of the wings and tail then are used to control roll, pitch and yaw as an aeroplane does. The tail’s rudder serves as a speed brake to assist in landing control and roll out on the runway after touchdown.

It’s not only the Space Shuttle’s exterior that is incredibly accurate. The interior from the upper flight deck down and through the mid-deck and out to the payload bay. Is sure to please both builders and space enthusiasts alike. The crew cabin features the five seats in their correct placement for the astronauts on the STS-31 mission.

Complete with flight and robotic arm (Remote Manipulator System, or RMS), control panels. Meanwhile. The mid-deck contains the space shuttle’s storage lockers for necessities and mission equipment. Space for the fifth crew member and the airlock to the payload bay.

Continues

Milan Madge, LEGO Set Designer commented “The Space Shuttle is the most complex vehicle ever made, so as you can imagine, translating this into LEGO was an exciting challenge.

In the real vehicle, every inch of space is used in ingenious ways. Generally, in a LEGO model, we can rely on the size to accommodate the structure that holds the whole set together. But on the Discovery Space Shuttle, we needed to create a smooth exterior and an interior capable of holding the payload.

Add functional landing gear and you have a real puzzle. This was without a doubt the most challenging part of this model. Trying to couple the front and main landing gear without removing any space from the payload bay and without compromising the structure of the model.

My favourite part of the set is the tiny blue seats that carried 5 human beings away from their home planet. On a mission that allowed us to discover parts of the universe never seen before!”