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 18,000 mph, Sputnik set off a firestorm of envy from the Americans which directly incited a Space Race that would last until we put a man on the Moon.


That little satellite that could has since been immortalized 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.


LEGO Space: Building the Future reproduced with permission of No Starch Press. © 2013 Peter Reid and Tim Goddard