LEGO fans want more space-themed kits, like the International Space Station

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LEGO fans want more space-themed kits, like the International Space Station
LEGO International Space Station (ISS)LEGO

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  • LEGO new International Space Station (ISS) kit was just an idea before fans rallied behind it.
  • Through the LEGO Ideas forum, creators can pitch their ideas and, if they get enough votes, the company will review the idea and consider putting it in stores.
  • Other than the ISS, creators and fans are looking for SpaceX, Blue Origin and sci-fi based LEGO kits to build.
LEGO plans to release a build set for the International Space Station (ISS) on February 1 but before the public could get their hands on it, it decided to launch it into space first.

The company attached a fully built LEGO ISS to a weather balloon and sent it into the Earth’s stratosphere, “to get it as close as possible to the real ISS”.


LEGO claims that their designs are as accurate as can be with an access hatch, a spacecraft dock, and solar panels. Just to make sure they had it right, the designs were also checked and approved by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

The ISS LEGO kit is only the most recent addition to the company’s long line of NASA ideas including the Saturn V rocket, Women of NASA, and Space Shuttle Explorer among others.

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Designing the International Space Station LEGO Set
The real brains behind the ISS LEGO set is Christophe Ruge. He submitted his design to the LEGO ideas forum where it first had to garner 10,000 votes before a team of experts reviewed the design. Only once they approved it, the ISS went into production.


The most difficult part was the overall stability of the structure. It is very fragile which is not a big deal in a zero-gravity environment. But it is down here on Earth!

Christophe Ruge

Since 2014, Ruge has submitted over a dozen ideas for LEGO Products. In real life he’s a computer engineer that works for a company that builds trains. And, he’s not the only one looking to turn his ideas into a reality.

The LEGO ideas forum is filled with creators pitching their own build sets. BrickinNick, for example, recently joined the 10K club after his design for the Tesla Cybertruck garnered 10,000 votes in over one month. In comparison, the ISS design took eight months to hit the 10,000-mark.

Here some other space-themed LEGO build sets that creators are hoping the company will make in the near future:
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​Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

​Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket

It’s not Elon Musk’s design for the Tesla Cybertruck that fans want to see in a LEGO kit but the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket — to scale. The project currently has 9,236 votes with 61 days to go before the design expires.

The rocket comes with a removable two-piece payload fairing, deployable grid fins and removable space struts. So, builders can make the rocket look like it’s just about to take off or that it’s just returned to Earth for re-use.

However, in the past, design proposals for the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket and SpaceX - The Ultimate Collection were not approved despite reaching the 10,000-mark.

​Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Glenn Rocket, launch tower and Blue Moon lander

​Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin Glenn Rocket, launch tower and Blue Moon lander

Elon Musk isn’t the only one in the spotlight. Fans of Jeff Bezos’ space company, Blue Origin, want a build set for the Glenn Rocket, its launch tower and the Blue Moon lander.

The design, proposed by Mathew Nolan, is 1:110 in scale and is made up of 2675 LEGO bricks. The lander comes equipped with payloads of four mini rovers. The set also includes a large rover and satellite for deployment.

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​The demand for Russian rockets

​The demand for Russian rockets

Numerous builds on LEGO ideas are proposing kits for the Soyuz rockets but one that’s running ahead of the others is the build for Vostok 1.

Vostok 1 was the first manned spaceflight. Russia’s accomplishment came at a time when it was locked in a space race against the US. So while LEGO has a build set to commemorate the US for putting the first man on the Moon, they are yet to make a Vostok build to credit Russia being the first to successfully launch a man into space.

​Martian City

​Martian City

Humans may not be able to live on Mars just yet, but Toby1Kenobi feels it might be easier to set a Mars colony with LEGO bricks instead.

The entire setup has eight domes with one large dome in the centre for habitation and seven smaller domes for scientific research, water purification and other activities required to survive on a strange planet.

There’s even a freighter to carry cargo and shuttle to and from the Red Planet.

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​Red Dwarf Starbug

​Red Dwarf Starbug

For those who aren’t familiar with Red Dwarf, it was a popular British sci-fi comedy TV series that has developed a cult following over the years.

One of the creators, Bobs Vintage Bricks, has proposed building a kit around the Starbug — a type of shuttlecraft used by the crew to get from the main ship to the surface of a planet.

The kit would include the insect-looking pod and full cast of the show. Aside from Dave Lister, the last human alive, the kit will include his morphed pet cat Frankenstein, the hologram of his dead bunkmate Arnold Rimmer, and an android name Kryten.

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