The Shuttle has been Grounded

An era has ended.  The Space Shuttle programme has drawn to a close.  Such an achievement of human technology dating back several decades ago, it is certainly a sad sight to see the Space Shuttles be grounded and decommissioned.  It is a testimate to the Space Shuttles that they have lasted for so long and endured so many flights.  Seeing as they have been out dated for quite some time, they have been quite reliable.

There have been plans for quite a while for a replacement Shuttle, but I have not heard nor seen of anything that indicates that it ever truly went beyond planning, estimates of financing and all the ground work of getting such a project going.  From my understanding, the issue at hand were that of finances.  Seems that most things in this world has an Achilles heel when it comes to finances.

The picture above is of the Space Shuttle Atlantis as it took its final flight on May 14th, 2010 from Kennedy Space Center, Florida.  An Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle is shown patrolling the airspace before, during, and after the Shuttle's launch.

News of the eventual end to the Space Shuttle programme was not just heard within the US, but made news across the pond.  In Denmark, those at Lego decided to create a Space Shuttle set to commemorate the Space Shuttle.  For so long, Lego has seemed to have had a love affair with the Space Shuttle.  I for one do not blame them.  I still remember when I was a kid and I was given the Space Shuttle Launch set 1682 that was released in 1990.  It was one of my favourite sets of all time.  I very much still wish I had it today.  I may even have to purchase it.

Below is the picture of the Space Shuttle Launch set 1682.  20 years later with the Space Shuttle Adventure set 10213, it's amazing how much Lego has changed and yet remained the same.

With the debut of the Space Shuttle Launch set 1682 in 1990, Lego has released 9 sets.  Below are a list to those that were sold in the years past.

1990 - Space Shuttle Launch (1682)
1992 - Shuttle Launching Crew (6346)
1995 - Shuttle Launch Pad (6339)
1995 - Shuttle Transcon 2 (6544)
1996 - Space Shuttle Technic (8480)
1999 - Mission Control (6456l)
2003 - Space Shuttle Discovery STS-31 (7470)
2003 - International Space Station (7467)
2010 - Shuttle Adventure (10213)

I am aware that my skills as a Lego builder have declined since I was quite young... easily a decade and a half since I last seriously played with them.  But seriously, I was not aware at how long it would take to build such something of that caliber.  The kit contained 1204 pieces, easily the largest kit I've ever built.  I'm used to building just about everything in under an hour and this kit took hours.  Granted I was watching movies at the same time, so somewhat distracted, but still a bit longer than first anticipated.  All in all, it was well worth the effort.

The pictures below are a collection of the shuttle finished in its glory.  The cost was a bit high for many, especially considering that it is after all a Lego set to many, it was well worth it and I have no complaints.

And a final picture of such simplicity and beauty of just how small humankind is even within such creation as the Space Shuttle when compared to Earth and the vast void of space.