For 27 years, this van transported astronauts to the Space Shuttle. It could be made into a Lego kit with enough support.

The NASA Airstream Astrovan transfer van submission to the Lego Ideas programme looks amazing. If enough votes are received, the classic RV may be a worthy addition to your bookshelf. The set has 541 supporters at the time of writing. However, there is still a lot to do before the kit can be considered for production. There are only 422 days left.

The Astrovan was based on an Airstream Excella RV 1983. It transported astronauts nine miles from their crew quarters at Kennedy Space Center to the Space Shuttle. After a successful mission, it returned them home. NASA estimates that it served this role for nearly 26 years, racking up approximately 26,500 miles between the first and last shuttle missions.

The interior of the Astrovan was functional and luxurious. Each wall was lined with folding bench seats. The lift-out sections held the ventilation units of the space suits that circulated cool, air around the astronauts until reaching the shuttle. “They plug that liquid into you, and it just blows cool air throughout you suit, and this is really nice because it actually dry you,” said Chris Ferguson, shuttle commander in NASA’s account of the vehicle’s story.

Although the photos don’t show the interior details, it looks fantastic. Although the actual vehicle has a rounder nose, the builder did a great job of forming the shape from the Lego bricks. It’s a nice touch to incorporate the red, white and blue stripes along the sides. It looks great and we can’t wait for it to become a production item.