Fifty-six years ago today, humanity entered the Space Age as a 23-inch radio-pulsing metal sphere dubbed Sputnik 1 entered LEO. As it sped around the Earth at 29,000km/h, Sputnik set off a firestorm of envy from the Americans, which directly incited a Space Race that would last until a man was put on the moon.
That little satellite that could has since been immortalised time and again in a variety of mediums, so, really, it was only a matter of time until it was cast in LEGO. Celebrate the day that we became more than a terrestrial species with this surprisingly simple plan from LEGO Space: Building the Future, which hopefully also includes a section on the Hubble — or at least the van from Space Balls.
