Removable panels on the LEGO Icons Hubble Space Telescope provide a look at the instruments and equipment inside.
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LEGO
As part of its storied history, the Hubble telescope was visited by astronauts five times, first to correct for an optical flaw and then to upgrade its capabilities. This LEGO model is configured to reflect the Hubble’s current configuration, following its fifth servicing in 2009.
Included in the build are the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS), Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS), Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS), which remain active on the real satellite today. Other details include the three gyroscopes and five guidance sensors, as well as, externally, its communications antennas and two solar array wings.
“Hubble’s solar array panels were changed twice. For this model, we chose the latest version installed,” reads a note in the instructions.
Labeled and unlabeled
The LEGO designers included more details in their build than the instruction book identifies, using both brick parts and decals.
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LEGO
Diagram from the instruction book for the LEGO Icons Hubble Space Telescope set labeling some of the science instruments and guidance equipment that are represented as parts of the model’s interior.
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LEGO
On the base of the telescope, a LEGO steering wheel substitutes for the capture mechanism that may be used by a future robotic or crewed vehicle to boost or deorbit the telescope. Stickers are applied nearby to represent the vents used to relieve pressure inside Hubble’s body while also preventing stray external sunlight from entering and interfering with observations.
Decals are also applied to simulate the ports for the three fixed-head star trackers, which follow specific stars in their field of view to help determine the telescope’s attitude. The dark circular openings on the aft body are the external light paths for the trackers.
The set also includes a stand on which to display Hubble. As part of that, a decal-adorned plaque lists facts about the observatory, including the dates of its five space shuttle servicing missions. The stand also includes three translucent pre-printed parts displaying three of the telescope’s most famous observations: the Eagle Nebula (“Pillars of Creation”), Whirlpool Galaxy, and the Butterfly Nebula.
“The astounding images and data provided by the Hubble Space Telescope have brought the farthest reaches of the universe closer to Earth. We’re just beginning to comprehend its historic significance, and it continues to inspire scientists and spark the public’s imagination,” wrote the designers in the introduction to the set’s instructions. “We wanted to honor that legacy.”
Credit:
LEGO
The LEGO Icons Hubble Space Telescope set is built to minifigure scale and includes an astronaut minifigure.
Credit:
LEGO
One more hidden detail: the astronaut minifigure is decorated so as to be wearing an extravehicular mobility unit (EMU), the spacesuit worn for the servicing missions. It does not reproduce the NASA insignia or any flight emblems, but on the back of its portable life support system (PLSS) backpack appears NASA’s celebratory logo for the Hubble Space Telescope’s first 35 years.