After I was a child, one in all my favorite places on the planet was the National Air and Space Museum down in Washington, DC. It, and its annex constructing over in Virginia, have a few of the coolest exhibits conceivable. Moon rocks! Early airplanes! Satellites! But three exhibits, out of all of them, stand above: The SR-71 Blackbird, the Concorde, and the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Since my childhood trips to Air and Space, I’ve loved all three of those planes. So it’s very convenient for me that the Smithsonian has begun 3D scanning its exhibits, and leaving the models up online for anyone to go print out. By the top of today, I’ll have a Discovery of my very own.
The Smithsonian has been digitizing exhibits since 2020, but I only recently discovered their list of Air and Space models. It’s got Discovery, the Apollo 11 command module (inside, outside, and in parts), the Wright Flyer, the Bell X-1 — even Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 space suit is included. Do you would like an astronaut standing in your desk? You may have one, for the few cents in filament and hours in time it takes you to print one out.
I’m a major proponent of 3D printing, and I’m all the time excited to seek out recent uses for the magic box of thing creation that sits within the corner of my apartment. With the hobby getting increasingly accessible on a regular basis, the long run looks vivid for those of us who enjoy DIYing our own little plastic trinkets. So go, fan the flames of your printer, and get yourself a Discovery in your desk. You understand you would like one.
This Article First Appeared At jalopnik.com
