All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links.
When you hear the word "Apollo," the first thing that comes to mind is probably Apollo 11 and the first Moon landing, or maybe Apollo 13 and its escape from disaster. But not so many would think of the Apollo-Soyuz mission, despite its incredible engineering and political impact. Under its real name Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, or ASTP, this mission aimed at demonstrating the possibilities of joint space programs between the two superpowers.
Launched in 1975, this test flight proved that two different spacecrafts with already-demonstrated flight heritage from two different "design schools" can dock in space and achieve a joint engineering and scientific objective. The mission was the last of the Apollo program and paved the way for future collaborations between the US and the then-USSR, such as the Shuttle-Mir program and the International Space Station.
Despite being firmly written in the history books, this incredible mission is shadowed by the first Space Shuttle flight six years later which has stolen the fame for the younger generation who grew up following the countdowns of the STS fleet. It is therefore not surprising to see many Hollywood movies, toys and Lego sets... representing one of the famous Space Shuttle, and not so many representing the engineering marvels of the ASTP mission.
Not so many indeed, but at least one Lego fan has done it and done it very well: Matt Bace, a Lego Cuusoo user, recreated a very accurate scaled version of the docking assembly of both Apollo and Soyuz. He is now hoping to collect 10.000 votes to have his project turned into a retail version.
This set is rather accurate, as the main subsystems and interfaces are being properly proportioned and represented: the Apollo service module, the Apollo command module, the docking module and the Soyuz spacecraft. Not a bad way to bring history in the classroom. As a dedicated user of Lego bricks, using both retail and self-made sets to teach kids about space and science, I would most certainly be one of the first in line to bring one of these sets back home.
With a bill of materials of nearly 1000 pieces, this set could very much fit into a retail package at a fairly decent price. So if you are ready to bring this piece of space history back into the Geek Hall of Fame, go to the Cuusoo page and submit your vote.
