View allAll Photos Tagged SpaceShuttle
Pima Air and Space Museum
(exhibit under construction)
SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM FIXED BASE GUIDANCE AND NAVIGATION SIMULATOR
One of only three advanced space shuttle orbiter simulators used to train NASA astronauts.
The fixed-base Guidance and Navigation Simulator (GNS) represents one of only three simulators once used to train astronauts for the Space Shuttle Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Along with the motion-base Shuttle Mission Simulator (SMS) and the Fixed-Base Simulator (FBS), these complex machines were used to create a series of various mission tasks ranging from full mission rehearsals down to recreating specific exercises such as atmosphere entry or launching satellites.
Predating the SMS and FBS, the GNS was built in the late 1970s and operational by 1982. Initially it was primarily used only to test and verify guidance and navigation software that would later be installed in the SMS, FBS, and orbiters. As such it originally did not have visual computer-generated windscreen displays and much of the interior was unfinished, though it did contain the same complex array of cockpit instrumentation, controls, and computer displays operated by five distinct general-purpose computers (GPC) present in actual orbiters.
Following the Challenger accident investigation, the Rogers Commission suggested that NASA invest in additional crew training simulators to provide increased and expanded training and to handle the higher frequency of missions. However, the cost of providing an additional SMS or FBS proved too expensive, so NASA elected to upgrade the GNS into a full fixed-base crew simulator that was essentially identical to the FBS.
The upgraded GNS flight deck was enhanced to provide a more realistic appearance and a full visual computer-generated imagery system for the six forward facing windscreens. Computer-generated imagery (CGI) was a new science in the early 1980s and all the simulators used a first-generation CGI system, rudimentary by today's standards.
For 20 years the upgraded GNS was used interchangeably with the FBS and it is likely that every post-Challenger crew spent time in the GNS practicing launch, ascent, orbit, re-entry, and landing procedures.
With the end of the Space Shuttle Program, the GNS was retired in 2011. In late 2020 the GNS was used on the set of a science fiction movie due to be released in late 2021 [not sure why they’re being cryptic, its Roland Emmerich’s Moonfall]. The filmmakers modified the simulator's external appearance, making the GNS more closely resemble the outer surface of an actual orbiter, along with internal cabin modifications. Following movie shooting, the GNS flight deck was donated to the Pima Air & Space Museum in early 2021.
Spaceplane as transported. Vertical tailfin is removed to clear overhead bridges and powerlines. Airframe is similar to duralumin like any other aircraft. This gets covered with ceramic and carbon thermal protection system.
Space Shuttle Endeavor flying by NASA Ames. I couldn't believe how low it was. The sound was incredible.
Pima Air and Space Museum
Thermal Micrometeoroid Garment Assembly (TMG)
The TMG is part of the extravehicular spacesuit worn by astronauts during spacewalks. It protects the wearer against solar radiation, extreme temperatures, micrometeoroids, and other orbital debris. Small flecks of paint or millimeter-sized micrometeoroids traveling at thousands of miles per hour can depressurize a suit or vehicle, potentially killing an astronaut.
7.) Vest
The vest component of the TMG fits over the Hard Upper Torso unit of the extravehicular spacesuit.
Space Shuttle for iPhone, by Laminar Research, same people who do X-Plane.
After many attempts I was incredibly excited to successfully dock the space shuttle with the International Space Station.
Maneuvering a craft in space is quite different than flying a plane since you have all three axis' to work with.
My score was 95%!
Flooding the night sky with its blazing light, Space Shuttle Discovery leaps toward the sky from Launch Pad 39B on mission STS-116 at 8:47:35 p.m. EST on Dec. 9, 2006. This is Discovery's 33rd mission and the first night launch since 2003.
The 20th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-116 carries another truss segment, P5. It will serve as a spacer, mated to the P4 truss that was attached in September. After installing the P5, the crew will reconfigure and redistribute the power generated by two pairs of U.S. solar arrays.
Image credit: NASA/George Shelton
Tue 2005-03-29 15:08 20050329(003) Tufte shows the specific path of debris hitting the wing of Columbia.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Ribbons of steam and smoke trail space shuttle Atlantis as it nears touch down on the Shuttle Landing Facility's Runway 15 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the final time. Securing the space shuttle fleet's place in history, Atlantis marked the 26th nighttime landing of NASA's Space Shuttle Program and the 78th landing at Kennedy. Main gear touchdown was at 5:57:00 a.m. EDT, followed by nose gear touchdown at 5:57:20 a.m., and wheelstop at 5:57:54 a.m. On board are STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. On the 37th shuttle mission to the International Space Station, STS-135 delivered more than 9,400 pounds of spare parts, equipment and supplies in the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module that will sustain station operations for the next year. STS-135 was the 33rd and final flight for Atlantis, which has spent 307 days in space, orbited Earth 4,848 times and traveled 125,935,769 miles. For more information visit, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135.... Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett