It took 200 astronauts and cosmonauts some 13 years to create the International Space Station. Now, just under 4,500 people may be able to achieve the same in less than 50 days.
Sort of.
A fan-designed LEGO version of the International Space Station has passed the halfway mark towards the 10,000 votes required for the toy company to consider producing the orbiting outpost as a commercial kit. But, the station model needs to recruit 4,500 more supporters in less than two months or the project will expire.
"This space station is out of this world!" LEGO told the model's creator, Christoph Ruge, in a comment posted to the LEGO Ideas website on Thursday (March 12). "Now it is time to ignite those thrusters... and make that final push to 10,000 supporters!"
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
A fan's yearlong mission to gain support for his LEGO version of the International Space Station is now complete.
Christoph Ruge's model of the orbiting outpost recorded its 10,000th vote on Friday (April 3) after being posted to the Danish toy company's social website, LEGO Ideas, more than a year ago. Ruge's plastic brick replica of the space station racked up its final 2,035 supporters in a matter of just 10 hours after it made it onto the front page of another popular website.
"Please support the project so we can all have a little ISS in our homes and/or office cubicles," Monitor343, a Reddit member, wrote in his appeal to readers of the site's Space community.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
LEGO will not be launching a model of the International Space Station, passing on the orbiting outpost as part of its most-recent review of fan-suggested and supported projects.
The company announced its decision on Friday (Oct. 30), just days shy of the anniversary of the real space station's first crew taking up residency on Nov. 2, 2000, beginning 15 years of a continuous human presence in space.
"This is usually when we happily announce which project will become the next LEGO Ideas product," stated Connie Solheim Lykke, marketing manager with the LEGO Group. "But unfortunately, I am unable to do so this time."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Two different takes on a SpaceX rocket and a second try at the space station have made it into LEGO's latest review of fan-proposed toy sets.
Monday (Sept. 3) marked the deadline for projects on the LEGO Ideas website to receive 10,000 votes, qualifying them to be part of the second production review of the year.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-18-2019 08:29 AM
LEGO has passed on producing either of the two SpaceX-themed projects and, for the second time, the International Space Station, as part of its second 2018 review.
The next review, for projects that reached 10,000 supporters between September 2018 and early January 2019, does not include any space-themed ideas.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
LEGO is giving the International Space Station a third chance at becoming one of its official toy sets.
German LEGO fan Christoph Ruge's model of the space station twice qualified for a product review through the LEGO Ideas website and was twice turned down. Now, the Danish toy company is letting the public decide if Ruge's space station is put into production.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
The International Space Station has won the honor of becoming an official toy in the LEGO universe.
The orbiting outpost topped a fan vote of more than 22,000 LEGO enthusiasts to be the Danish toy company's next real-life spacecraft to be made into a toy brick model. The space station received more than 45 percent of the votes cast — 10,438 votes to be exact — in the LEGO Ideas 10 Year Anniversary poll held May 20 through June 4 on the company's website.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-20-2020 09:43 AM
From LEGO on Facebook:
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
The International Space Station is about to launch into the LEGO universe.
The orbiting laboratory, which for almost 20 years has hosted a continuous human presence in Earth orbit, is being released by LEGO as a toy model. The 864-piece set shrinks the football-field-long space station to the size of desktop display, while still preserving details such as its rotating solar arrays and robotic arm.
Available beginning Feb. 1 from LEGO Stores and the LEGO website, the ISS will retail for $69.99. The set is recommended for builders 16 years of age or older.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-21-2020 09:12 AM
LEGO video
An out-of-this-world building experience is coming! The LEGO International Space Station is available February 1st!
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
It’s a fantastically designed LEGO model of one of mankind’s most impressive achievements of the modern age, representing a true high-water mark of international cooperation. The model is sturdy despite representing something that was built in microgravity and has loads of great details, including at least five different spacecraft from Soyuz to the Space Shuttle (six if you assume at least one Progress capsule).
JJG10101 New Member
Posts: 6 From: Rancho Santa Margarita, CA Registered: Feb 2019
posted 01-21-2020 10:58 PM
Jay's Brick Blog is another good site for LEGO news and reviews. He's got a bunch of photos, international pricing, etc.
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-27-2020 11:10 AM
LEGO VIP members will receive an International Space Station patch with purchase of the ISS set between Feb. 1 and Feb. 9, 2020 (while supplies last):
Liembo Member
Posts: 612 From: Bothell, WA Registered: Jan 2013
posted 01-29-2020 02:18 PM
I saw this on Twitter (original source), I wonder if some regions will get this patch instead?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-29-2020 03:38 PM
I suspect it is more likely that the LEGO calendar used the NASA patch art as a stand-in and the patch you've pictured is the one that will be available on Saturday.
jjknap Member
Posts: 276 From: Bourbonnais, IL USA Registered: Apr 2011
posted 01-29-2020 05:06 PM
Does anyone know if the patches are available to VIP members at the Lego Store, or if you have to order the set directly from Lego to receive the patch?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 01-31-2020 04:58 PM
We'll know soon, but if works like it did with the Apollo 11 Lunar Module patch offer, the ISS patch will be available in both the LEGO Stores and on shop.lego.com.
Update: The patch (as pictured by Liem above) is available both online and in stores. If you are a LEGO VIP member, the patch is automatically added to your order after adding the space station set to your "bag" on shop.lego.com.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
Like the orbiting outpost on which it is modeled, LEGO's new International Space Station has its own mission patch.
Released Saturday (Feb. 1), on the same day that LEGO debuted the 864-piece International Space Station (ISS) set for sale, the colorful space patch is a bonus for the members of LEGO's loyalty program, "VIP."
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-01-2020 01:25 PM
At the LEGO Store closest to Johnson Space Center in Houston this morning, there were about 20 people waiting when the store opened. The sets were limited to one per person and the store had 40 sets in stock.
The sets were sold out within the first hour.
Larry McGlynn Member
Posts: 1263 From: Boston, MA Registered: Jul 2003
posted 02-01-2020 02:23 PM
I picked up the first one in Boston. One to a customer. I went back about 20 minutes later to pick up another kit for a friend and 5 had been sold in that time period. No one was in the store and I went to a different cashier and picked up a second one. Now I have to mail it down to my friend.
jjknap Member
Posts: 276 From: Bourbonnais, IL USA Registered: Apr 2011
posted 02-01-2020 06:19 PM
Picked up two sets from the Orland Park store this morning. They even gave me two patches!
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-03-2020 09:27 AM
I spent Sunday afternoon building the space station. It was a good, quick build.
There are some great details included in the set, including the Japanese Kibo robotic arm, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS), the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) and the Cupola (though a few windows are missing from the printed part).
Those components are readily apparent if you are familiar with the space station, but it would have been great if LEGO had done what it did for the Apollo 11 lunar module and included sidebars to the build instructions with details about the parts being assembled.
David C Member
Posts: 1026 From: Lausanne Registered: Apr 2012
posted 02-03-2020 12:32 PM
What scale is this?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-03-2020 01:00 PM
It is designed to be to scale with LEGO microfigures, but that scale varies between sets. The space station model is one foot long and the real space station is 240 feet long.
GACspaceguy Member
Posts: 2497 From: Guyton, GA Registered: Jan 2006
posted 02-03-2020 02:16 PM
Well that math is simple 1/240 scale.
It looks well done for the material being used. Nice size to display, the 1/144 scale model is big to display and very hard to dust. This looks like a good alternate again for the fact it is Lego.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 02-04-2020 09:53 AM
LEGO Designers Sam and Corvin as they explain what it took to turn Fan Designer Christoph Ruge's International Space Station concept model into an official set:
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 43327 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 03-01-2020 11:37 AM
From Luca Parmitano, via Twitter:
posted 03-13-2015 11:43 AM
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