Rocket

This is part of a model of the  M-1 rocket of ISAS, the Japanese space science institute (now part of JAXA, the Japanese space exploration agency).  Rockets are expensive, and take a long time to build, even with the efforts of legions of people.  Even so, they quite frequently explode on the launch pad.  Compared with other modes of transportation, they are wasteful of energy; but there are only very few of them.  And, we love the things we get from them: weather maps, for example.