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Lego Hubble Teaches Us to Look Up—and Down

SUNI wonders if we'll ever build telescopes from Lego bricks that actually work.

For 35 years, the Hubble Space Telescope has looked out into the Universe. Now, Lego is inviting builders to look inward with its latest model of the orbiting observatory.


The new Lego Icons Hubble Space Telescope (set no. 11382) was released on August 1 for £140 at the toy company’s stores and online shop. The 1,252-piece kit builds a 15-inch-long (38-cm) desktop model that is about twice as large as the previously released Lego Hubble models.


The Icons Hubble is the first to be sized in comparison to a Lego minifigure, such that the included astronaut provides a sense of scale for the telescope. In the real world, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched on the space shuttle Discovery and deployed by the STS-31 crew in 1990 at a length of 43.5 feet (13.2 meters), making the new Lego desktop model about 1:35 scale.


In addition to being faithful to the overall shape and exterior details, the new Lego Icons model is the first to build representations of the science instruments and interior components that enable Hubble to operate in Earth orbit. Open wide (field camera): The aperture door at the top of the telescope opens, affording a view of the secondary mirror assembly inside. Two panels along the upper and lower body of the Hubble can also be removed to expose the mirrors, as well as the central baffle that directs light from stars and galaxies to the observatory’s instruments and primary mirror.

Original source:  https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/08/lego-deploys-hubble-space-telescope-as-detailed-desktop-model/
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