#LEGO NASA SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SET FULL#

Given more time I would have loved to build the external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. On top of all that thereвЂ™s a host of potential moc opportunities.

Given the angle at which the model sits on its stand, up/down pitch control might have been more appropriate but yes, IвЂ™m splitting hairs here. They can only move in opposite directions like ailerons, which would affect the shuttleвЂ™s roll.

#LEGO NASA SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SET FULL#

The official press release describes them as elevons and while twisting the booster does partially mimic the actual machine, the full range of motion isnвЂ™t there. It has elevons, which combine the pitch and roll effects of two separate components found on traditional aircraft. Rocket nerds will be quick to point out, however, that as a flying wing the real shuttle doesnвЂ™t have ailerons. The LEGO version doesn't produce quite as much thrust as the 418,000lbf output by the real things, but they are nicely detailed and thereвЂ™s a neat little linkage which controls the ailerons via twisting the top booster. These monsters are something of a microcosm of the entire program: bonkers tech dreamt up in the вЂ60s, built in the вЂ70s and improved upon incrementally to the point where they are still being considered for use in the next generation of space flights. The next steps focus on building up the huge RS-25 rocket engines.

Lego nasa space shuttle discovery set