Space Shuttle Mission Simulator is the newest and most exciting Space Shuttle Simulator available today, designed to provide the experience and excitement of the NASA Space Shuttle missions in extreme detail.
Orbiter is a simulator that gives you an idea what space flight really feels like - today and in the not so distant future. And best of all: you can download it for free! Launch the Space Shuttle from Kennedy Space Center and rendezvous with the International Space Station.
Features:
- Accurate and detailed 3D models of the Space Shuttle
- Accurate 3D model of the International Space Station
- Accurate 3D models of satellites and other mission-related objects
- Beautifully rendered Space Shuttle 3D virtual cockpit and 3D sound effects
- High-Resolution TrueEarth Global Satellite Imagery licensed from TerraMetrics Inc. These are the same textures used by Google Earth.
- Watch the countdown and Shuttle Launch from the place that few get to see it: the VIP spot at KSC.
- Experience the Liftoff shakes and engines roar right from the Commander's or Pilot's seats.
- Perform mission procedures: press buttons, rotate knobs, control and change General Purpose Computer modes and manually guide the Shuttle to a safe landing etc.
- First Person View, including EVA you cannot get any closer to the ISS or Hubble than that!
- Third Person View and Free Camera View throughout the missions watch the Space Shuttle and any space object from angles that even Astronauts never got to see.
- Monitor the progress from the Mission Control Center
- Multiple Astronauts login complete with personal Astronauts Achievements records and Multiple Mission Saves
- Launch Control, Mission Control, Shuttle and Astronauts audio communications.
- Three difficulty modes: from Novice which leads the 'astronaut' through the tasks with context arrows and full text subtitles, to 'Read the Manual and Checklists Commander!'
- Documentation: 'Quick Start' and 'Commander's Reference Manual'.
- Variable-difficulty historical missions from STS-1 (the maiden flight) and up to the recent ones.
- Expandable: we periodically release new missions and features, enhancing playability and sim life.
- TrackIR(tm) Support in 3D Virtual Cockpit and first person view during EVA
- Multiple Screens support for Matrox TripleHead2Go(tm) and Nvidia nView (tm)
- Native support for Vuzix iWear VR920 Stereoscopic goggles + head tracking. This is the closest you can get to the NASA VR Labs where Shuttle Astronauts train for ISS missions.
Images/Screenshots
The archive SSM2007.zip has 14 files and directories contained within it.
File Contents
This list displays the first 500 files in the package. If the package has more, you will need to download it to view them.
Filename/Directory | File Date | File Size |
---|---|---|
SSM2007-DEMO-Setup.exe | 08.16.17 | 121.16 MB |
Screenshots | 08.16.17 | 0 B |
001.jpg | 08.16.17 | 148.58 kB |
002.jpg | 08.16.17 | 66.97 kB |
003.jpg | 08.16.17 | 224.19 kB |
004.jpg | 08.16.17 | 70.19 kB |
005.jpg | 08.16.17 | 128.82 kB |
006.jpg | 08.16.17 | 67.15 kB |
007.jpg | 08.16.17 | 91.79 kB |
008.jpg | 08.16.17 | 337.78 kB |
009.jpg | 08.16.17 | 105.18 kB |
010.jpg | 08.16.17 | 77.31 kB |
flyawaysimulation.txt | 10.29.13 | 959 B |
Go to Fly Away Simulation.url | 01.22.16 | 52 B |
Editorial
Having always enjoyed the world of flight simulation, being able to take in parts of the world I wanted to see but never would be able to, I have found myself growing a little bit tired of visiting the same places over and over again. However, there are many mods out there that change this due to the fact they add in something a little bit fresher than usual – in this brilliant add-on, I was able to finally take myself away from the same areas and actually head into space instead. Space is something that most of us will never even get close to being near, so it’s amazing to get out into the space above the planet and see it all from a whole new level of detail and realism.
The first thing I noticed upon installation, though, was the massive attention to detail and design within all space-related craft. From the shuttle itself to the large space station and accompanying equipment like satellites, I was easily able to understand what I was looking at. The fact that the shuttle cockpit has been rendered and made so effective, using 3D special sound effects to help add to that atmosphere even more, makes it a lot easier for people to just relax and get used to being within a whole new kind of aircraft.
Everything from the little countdown to takeoff features that have been added, right down to the liftoff as it shakes and roars its way through the skies into a whole new part of the flight simulation experience. Instead of stopping mid-way through the skies and not being able to ascend any higher, I was able to rip through old barriers and carry on beyond the world. Whether it was using First Person viewpoints or Third Person, I was able to get a truly amazing view of the world around me as I flew.
In fact, the views and angles that come up truly give you a balance and scope as to just how vast the actual world is – with an amazing model provided to show you the real scale and detail of our planet below, you’ll get to witness from truly breathtaking scenes. I was drawn to this package because it offers such incredibly realistic detail on everything from the shuttles to space itself; these are the little features that make things stand out in the world, and this is why I deem to be most important when using a simulator.
The missions provided via the Control Center are hugely enjoyable, too, making it really easy for you to undertake more than a basic flight around the place to see what is going on. Instead, with this, you get to enjoy the sheer wonder and class of the space around us by having something to do. Other space flight mods might exist but I’ve yet to find one with such an attention to detail in both the design as well as the tasks to take part in.
If, like me, you want to witness the space world like it’s never been seen before in a flight simulator then this is the place to get started.
Adam McEnroe
Adam McEnroe is a flight sim enthusiast who has been simming since the days of FS95. Adam writes all of the download section editorials after testing each of the files. Adam has extensive knowledge using various flight simulator packages and thoroughly tests the files before writing about them. Adam also like to fly real-world aircraft in his spare time and is training for his PPL.
Should you wish, you can contact Adam via email at [email protected].
Installation of Add-on Aircraft/Scenery
Most of the freeware add-on aircraft and scenery packages in our file library come with easy installation instructions which you can read above in the file description. For further installation help, please see our Knowledge Center for our full range of tutorials or view the README file contained within the download.
As a person who really enjoys flying airplanes, I never thought I would ever say this, but flying a simulator can be as much fun as flying the real thing. Of course it helps when the simulator is a replica of the space shuttle cockpit at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.On a recent, I arrived early for an interview with Ken Ham, commander on the shuttle flight scheduled to lift off on May 14. While I waited, an engineer fired up the simulator where we were going to conduct the interview and let me make some practice approaches.Known as the Shuttle Engineering Simulator, or SES, it's not the full motion simulator used for full flight profile training, but rather a fixed-base simulator used by astronauts and engineers for both training and testing changes that will be made on the shuttle. The SES is very used by Boeing and other aircraft makers to test systems before putting them on the real thing. Computers control much of the flight until the last 4-5 minutes before landing. So I was given the chance to fly several approaches into the Kennedy Space Center, landing on runway 15.
My flights began with the shuttle heading east towards the Atlantic passing over KSC at 50,000 feet and 240 knots (equivalent air speed or KEAS).It turns out the shuttle is a terrible glider. I don't have a lot of glider experience, but I know that pitching nose down at 20 degrees and a descent rate of more than 10,000 feet per minute isn't considered good.
An airliner typically follows a 3-degree glide path when approaching the runway. According to Commander Ham, this is probably the biggest challenge facing the average pilot.' The sight picture is a lot different,' he said, 'but it's a pretty easy task for an experienced pilot to make a safe landing with just a little bit of information,' Commander Ham said, adding that a perfect landing is very difficult. Of course, like many things, it might be easy when everything is going right. It's the emergencies and unexpected scenarios that require the bulk of the training.' Then things get a bit more difficult.
It starts to challenge your flying skills a bit more,' Commander Ham noted, saying it is similar to flying other aircraft where you train for emergencies. 'It's just another flying job.' I paused and debated to myself whether or not to challenge that last point. Never mind.Back in the sim, I passed through 40,000 feet and got ready to start my turn around the, which is a guidance system that allows pilots to follow a circular descent path to the runway. As I continued the turn, I could see the Florida coast out the left window, and out of habit, I started looking for the runway.
My airspeed was around 290 knots as I turned to line up with runway 15 and pass through 12,000 feet. The shuttle is remarkably stable to fly as I suppose would be the case with any brick featuring stubby wings. Moving the stick is a bit unusual because it requires only small wrist movements.Perhaps most interesting is that it pivots in the middle of the palm for pitch (controlling nose up or nose down).
Commander Ham explained later that this is to prevent inadvertent movement during launch. 'It's a beautiful design, you can fly uphill at 3g's with your hand on the stick and nothing happens,' he said.So far the approach hadn't been too difficult. In front of me there was a heads-up display (HUD) with airspeed, altitude and other key flight parameters. Most importantly there was a flight-path marker and guidance diamond. These navigation aids make it rather easy for a pilot to find the way to the runway and line up, assuming that everything is working.
You just keep the flight-path marker on the guidance diamond and the runway should eventually appear in front of you.On final approach, a pair of triangles rose from the bottom of the HUD when it was time to begin the flare, which slows the rate of descent. In a typical small airplane, a pilot might begin the flare at 10 to 30 feet above the runway traveling around 60 knots. In the shuttle, you start the flare at 2,000 feet and 300 knots. That part would take some getting used to. 'This is the critical part,' Commander Ham explained. 'At 2,000 feet, if you don't start pulling up, you're going to die.' So I followed the guidance on the HUD and touched down the main gear with a squeak at 200 knots with the nose still pointing rather high in the air.
After what seeemed like a very long time, the nose gear eventually came down with a thud and I rolled safely to a stop.A space shuttle commander has countless landings in simulators at the Johnson Space Center, and at least a thousand. I realize I'm a long way from having the skills necessary to fly the orbiter. But if I were ever stowed away in the cargo bay and the announcement came over the speakers, 'Is there a pilot on board?' I would at least have a chance of getting the world's heaviest glider on the ground safely.Images: Jason Paur/Wired.com.