Lego has decided to celebrate NASA's 1990 STS-31 mission by launching a Space Shuttle Discovery Lego set (#10283), consisting of 2,354 pieces.
Discovery is the shuttle that carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit over three decades ago, and sure enough this new set contains the telescope as well. Built for adults, the model includes a number of authentic features including an opening payload bay, retractable landing gear, opening cockpit, moving elevons, a space arm, and five seats for the crew. The Lego Hubble Space Telescope has movable solar panels and a hatch door.
Once you've successfully put all 2,354 pieces together using the coffee-table-style instructions, you'll have a completed model measuring 8.5-by-21-by-13.5-inches and multiple display stands to choose from for showing it off. The model may be joining others in your collection of NASA replicas, such as the Apollo 11 Lunar Lander, Saturn V rocket, or the now very hard to find International Space Station.
Over on the Lego website, Dr. Frederic Bertley, Canadian scientist and science educator, sat down with Dr. Kathy Sullivan, one of the astronauts on the mission to deploy Hubble, and the first American woman to complete a spacewalk (in 1984). Sullivan takes us through the different parts of the Discovery model, as well as offering a longer interview for Lego VIP members.
Such a detailed model with so many pieces doesn't come cheap. When it launches on April 1, it will cost $199.99, and you can pre-order it today. Right now, Lego is also offering a free Easter Bunny's Carrot House model if you spend over $60.