LEGO Star Wars in Space!

[Staff]

How incredible is that image, huh? Just seeing it makes me giddy. JPAerospace is an independent space program empowering students to run their own space missions. The program is run by volunteers who assemble weather balloons and other craft to launch ping pong balls into space. The ping pong ball satellites, or Pongsats, are actually the experiments run by students. Anything that can fit inside a ball can be launched. Last month, one such launch included microscale versions of a TIE Fighter and an X-wing Fighter attached to wires that were then attached to a motor that simulated a chase.

You can check out this image and more on the JPAerospace blog post, and find out more info about the program on their main site.

Thanks to John for writing it in.
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Permalink: http://www.fbtb.net/2012/06/14/lego-star-wars-in-space/

[madLEGOman]

now that is awesome!

[Solo]

Nitpick: that's not space. Well, it is in the sense that Earth is in space so from one perspective everything is in space, but going by the standard 100km "edge of space" Kármán line that's only about a third of the way there. I say only like that's not cool enough though... but it is. "LEGO Star Wars in the Stratosphere" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

I feel like I've mentioned this before. edit: I did.

edit again: I also take issue with the Pongsats. Satellites are objects placed into orbit, not just taken up really really high and then brought back. I'm all for cool projects like this but the disinformation puts me off.

[onions]

man are you hard to please...