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PUNCH/WFI Spacecraft 1:5 model from BrickLink
This is a 1:5 scale model of a real operating "smallsat" spacecraft, part of the PUNCH mission being flown by everyone's favorite space agency (who can't be named here, due to moderation rules). It was designed by members of the actual mission development team, and is part of the PUNCH outreach program. PUNCH stands for "Polarimeter to Unify the Corona and Heliosphere". It is a mission to understand the origins of "space weather", which is a real thing that affects our planet.PUNCH has three "Wide Field Imager" (WFI) spacecraft like this one. The three are in flight right now (as of July 2026) and they photograph our entire inner solar system once every few minutes. The kit is 1157 pieces and includes all major flight subsystems of the spacecraft, showing how they fit together to make a complete working observatory in space. The instruction manual includes 14 pages of notes on the mission, the spacecraft, the individual subsystems, and how they all work together.Recommended for ages 10+, especially young engineers!This version, v1r6, includes some minor adjustments to the previously-approved v1r5: (a) design tweaks from test builds; (b) a note (p. 4) on how the four spacecraft work together.
