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Removable panels on the Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope provide a look at the instruments and equipment inside.<\/p>\n
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\n LEGO\n <\/p>\n
\n Removable panels on the Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope provide a look at the instruments and equipment inside.<\/p>\n
LEGO<\/p>\n <\/span>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019s current configuration, following its fifth servicing in 2009.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHubble\u2019s solar array panels were changed twice. For this model, we chose the latest version installed,\u201d reads a note in the instructions.<\/p>\n The Lego designers included more details in their build than the instruction book identifies, using both brick parts and decals.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s interior.<\/p>\n \n Credit: \n 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\u2019s interior.<\/p>\n LEGO<\/p>\n <\/span>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019s body while also preventing stray external sunlight from entering and interfering with observations.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s attitude. The dark circular openings on the aft body are the external light paths for the trackers.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s most famous observations: the Eagle Nebula (\u201cPillars of Creation\u201d), Whirlpool Galaxy, and the Butterfly Nebula.<\/p>\n \u201cThe astounding images and data provided by the Hubble Space Telescope have brought the farthest reaches of the universe closer to Earth. We\u2019re just beginning to comprehend its historic significance, and it continues to inspire scientists and spark the public\u2019s imagination,\u201d wrote the designers in the introduction to the set\u2019s instructions. \u201cWe wanted to honor that legacy.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope set is built to minifigure scale and includes an astronaut minifigure.<\/p>\n \n Credit: \n The Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope set is built to minifigure scale and includes an astronaut minifigure.<\/p>\n LEGO<\/p>\n <\/span>\n <\/p>\n 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\u2019s celebratory logo for the Hubble Space Telescope\u2019s first 35 years.<\/p>\n
\n Credit:<\/p>\nLabeled and unlabeled<\/h2>\n
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\n LEGO\n <\/p>\n
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