''Space Shuttle Mission 2007'' is a

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...

stand-alone mission simulator for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

. The simulator was released on January 1, 2008 after having been under development for more than six years.

Gameplay

The main purpose of ''Space Shuttle Mission 2007'' is to allow the gamer to experience real historical

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

missions from liftoff (T-00:01:50:00) to landing. Initially, ''Space Shuttle Mission 2007'' was released with a set of 11 missions but as time passed, the development team has been releasing new missions as free add-ons. The missions include

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

deployment and servicing (including the

Hubble Space Telescope The Hubble Space Telescope (often referred to as HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most versa ...

), building and servicing the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

extra-vehicular activities Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmen ...

and landing at

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

and

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...

. A typical mission starts on the

launch pad A launch pad is an above-ground facility from which a rocket-powered missile or space vehicle is vertically launched. The term ''launch pad'' can be used to describe just the central launch platform (mobile launcher platform), or the entire ...

at KSC right after the astronauts have entered the cockpit. After that, the user goes through the preflight, liftoff, ascent, on-orbit, de-orbit, approach and landing phases. Most of the time is spent on orbit where the user is expected to perform the mission as described in the briefing screen and as instructed by the on-screen checklists and audio communications from the MCC. Landing is performed manually following Houston instructions and realistic guidance and navigation information presented on the 9 forward panels MFD and the fully collimated

HUD Hud or HUD may refer to: Entertainment * ''Hud'' (1963 film), a 1963 film starring Paul Newman * ''Hud'' (1986 film), a 1986 Norwegian film * ''HUD'' (TV program), or ''Heads Up Daily'', a Canadian e-sports television program Places * Hud, Fa ...

. The action during all mission phases can be viewed from several "cameras": external view, first person, floating camera and Mission Control Center information screens. After completing the mission successfully from start to end, the virtual Astronaut receives a mission badge which is displayed in the Astronaut Achievements section. The Space Shuttle Mission 2007 simulates

systems, including the general-purpose

computer A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...

remote manipulator system Canadarm or Canadarm1 (officially Shuttle Remote Manipulator System or SRMS, also SSRMS) is a series of robotic arms that were used on the Space Shuttle orbiters to deploy, manoeuvre, and capture payloads. After the Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' ...

auxiliary power unit An auxiliary power unit (APU) is a device on a vehicle that provides energy for functions other than propulsion. They are commonly found on large aircraft and naval ships as well as some large land vehicles. Aircraft APUs generally produce 115&n ...

hydraulic Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counter ...

CCTV Closed-circuit television (CCTV), also known as video surveillance, is the use of video cameras to transmit a signal to a specific place, on a limited set of monitors. It differs from broadcast television in that the signal is not openly t ...

, electrical,

propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived from ...

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

, APDS (docking system),

communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

, and payload bay. These are intended to allow for a realistic interaction between the user and these systems throughout the mission. As the mission evolves, the simulator presents the user with an on-screen context-related checklist, indicating which systems to operate and how. In the easiest difficulty mode, the simulator indicates individual switches with flashing arrows, in addition to the checklists. In more advanced difficulty modes, the user is expected to use printed checklists to complete the mission. The user spends most of the time in a realistic and complete 3D virtual cockpit, manning several "stations": commander, pilot, mission specialist 1, mission specialist 2, and a mission specialist middeck position. The 3D virtual cockpit is especially effective due to the support of

TrackIR TrackIR is an optical motion tracking game controller for Microsoft Windows created by NaturalPoint Inc.. TrackIR tracks head motions with up to six degrees of freedom (6DOF) in later models, allowing handsfree view control for improved game im ...

:PRO head-tracking device, Matrox

TripleHead2Go Matrox Graphics eXpansion Module (GXM) supports the use of multiple monitors over a single video source by splitting the output of a video source, providing an enlarged workspace or gaming environment. GXM is not a graphics card itself, and in fact ...

multiple monitor support and the

Vuzix Vuzix () is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Rochester, New York. Founded in 1997 by Paul Travers, Vuzix is a supplier of wearable display technology, virtual reality, and augmented reality. Vuzix manufactures and se ...

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

stereoscopic Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the depth perception, illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stere ...

goggles. The in-cockpit and other environmental sounds are simulated including the engines, RCS, alarms, and cockpit cooling "humming". The user can zoom into various panels in a 2D view or directly select the various systems from the main menu, in real time and press buttons, turn knobs, flip switches as the mission requires. There is also constant and context-relevant mission-related audio communications between the Mission Control Center and the Space Shuttle guiding the user through the mission.

Extra-vehicular activities Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmen ...

are conducted in

first-person view First-person view (FPV), also known as remote-person view (RPV), or simply video piloting, is a method used to control a radio-controlled vehicle from the driver or pilot's view point. Most commonly it is used to pilot a radio-controlled aircra ...

. In certain missions, the virtual astronauts will also drive the

Manned Maneuvering Unit The Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU) is an astronaut propulsion unit that was used by NASA on three Space Shuttle missions in 1984. The MMU allowed the astronauts to perform untethered extravehicular spacewalks at a distance from the shuttle. T ...

to capture satellites for maintenance. The latest mission add-on is the STS-47 Spacelab mission. In this mission, the user can visit the Spacelab-J and float inside the lab in Zero-G.

References

External links

Space Shuttle Mission 2007 official website

Official Space Shuttle Mission 2007 Forum
{{Space Shuttle Virtual reality games Windows games Windows-only games 2008 video games Space flight simulator games Realistic space simulators

Gameplay

See also

References

External links