8 ms·

The article comments have quite a bit of additional information on the sim. Interesting reading.

mzs 5y ago
> I'm not an astronaut, just a commercial pilot, but I was fortunate enough to "fly" the shuttle simulator about 12 years ago. It was an amazing experience. When the tech strapped us in tight and showed where the airsick bags were, I knew it was going to get interesting. It's just like an airline simulator (pretty sure it was built by the same company), except it tilts 90 degrees for launch. I observed a few launches in the "jumpseat". They were doing real work and testing an anomaly that occurred on a previous shuttle mission to see how it would affect systems in various abort scenarios. It really shakes a lot during launch, but obviously there is only 1g max. It's on hydraulics and by pushing over and dropping, it feels like you are decelerating or going weightless, if only for a few seconds. > After the real work was done, they let me shoot a couple of approaches into Kennedy. It has an intuitive Heads Up Display, similar to what some 737s have. The control stick was quite unique however. It sits between your legs like a fighter jet and it's fly-by-wire with an unusual activation mechanism that I can't really describe. It was very sensitive so you have to make short inputs, almost flying it with just 2 fingers. It's just like flying an approach in an airplane except you were coming in at 250-300 kts most of the way, you were flying a 18.5 degree glide path (normal plane is 3 degrees), and there was no 2nd chance . The HUD guidance plus the approach lights at Kennedy made it very easy to fly an approach. I had no trouble landing safely, but it was nearly impossible to get a "greaser". I think I bounced one and floated one. I left Buidling 5 with the biggest grin on my face that day - Gman737 - DEC 10, 2021 10:24 AM https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/12/saving-the-shuttle-simulator-it-was-an-artifact-that-needed-to-be-preserved/?comments=1&post=40476072 https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/12/saving-the-shuttle-s...
- erik_seaberg 5y ago
  > you were flying a 18.5 degree glide path (normal plane is 3 degrees), and there was no 2nd chance Yeah, the Shuttle was such a bad glider that they trained pilots using a business jet with gear down and reverse thrust. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Training_Aircraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Training_Aircraft

mzs 5y ago

> I'm not an astronaut, just a commercial pilot, but I was fortunate enough to "fly" the shuttle simulator about 12 years ago. It was an amazing experience. When the tech strapped us in tight and showed where the airsick bags were, I knew it was going to get interesting. It's just like an airline simulator (pretty sure it was built by the same company), except it tilts 90 degrees for launch. I observed a few launches in the "jumpseat". They were doing real work and testing an anomaly that occurred on a previous shuttle mission to see how it would affect systems in various abort scenarios. It really shakes a lot during launch, but obviously there is only 1g max. It's on hydraulics and by pushing over and dropping, it feels like you are decelerating or going weightless, if only for a few seconds. > After the real work was done, they let me shoot a couple of approaches into Kennedy. It has an intuitive Heads Up Display, similar to what some 737s have. The control stick was quite unique however. It sits between your legs like a fighter jet and it's fly-by-wire with an unusual activation mechanism that I can't really describe. It was very sensitive so you have to make short inputs, almost flying it with just 2 fingers. It's just like flying an approach in an airplane except you were coming in at 250-300 kts most of the way, you were flying a 18.5 degree glide path (normal plane is 3 degrees), and there was no 2nd chance . The HUD guidance plus the approach lights at Kennedy made it very easy to fly an approach. I had no trouble landing safely, but it was nearly impossible to get a "greaser". I think I bounced one and floated one. I left Buidling 5 with the biggest grin on my face that day - Gman737 - DEC 10, 2021 10:24 AM https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/12/saving-the-shuttle-simulator-it-was-an-artifact-that-needed-to-be-preserved/?comments=1&post=40476072 https://arstechnica.com/science/2021/12/saving-the-shuttle-s...

erik_seaberg 5y ago
> you were flying a 18.5 degree glide path (normal plane is 3 degrees), and there was no 2nd chance Yeah, the Shuttle was such a bad glider that they trained pilots using a business jet with gear down and reverse thrust. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Training_Aircraft https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuttle_Training_Aircraft