KSC Visitor Complex Unveils Shuttle Simulator
Fri May 18, 6:45 PM ET
It's the closest most people will ever get to flying in a space shuttle.
A simulator is preparing to open at the
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex that officials hope will draw visitors, WESH 2 News reported.
It's being called a simulator, not a ride, and it's no fantasy.
Officials said it's a faithful re-creation, supervised by astronauts, of a launch in a space shuttle. The first thing riders experience is being aimed at the sky.
The real shuttle pounds astronauts with 2.5 times the force of gravity and punishes them with the jolting power of the booster rockets, and astronauts said the simulator really feels like the launch process.
Those who experience the simulator said you can feel the boosters separate and the ride smooth out, and finally, weightlessness. Riders tilt forward, nearly out of their seat, and some said it leaves them a slightly unsteady.
A few lucky tourists were able to experience the simulator on Thursday, but the official grand opening of the Shuttle Launch Experience is set for Memorial Day Weekend.
Fri May 18, 6:45 PM ET
It's the closest most people will ever get to flying in a space shuttle.
A simulator is preparing to open at the
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex that officials hope will draw visitors, WESH 2 News reported.
It's being called a simulator, not a ride, and it's no fantasy.
Officials said it's a faithful re-creation, supervised by astronauts, of a launch in a space shuttle. The first thing riders experience is being aimed at the sky.
The real shuttle pounds astronauts with 2.5 times the force of gravity and punishes them with the jolting power of the booster rockets, and astronauts said the simulator really feels like the launch process.
Those who experience the simulator said you can feel the boosters separate and the ride smooth out, and finally, weightlessness. Riders tilt forward, nearly out of their seat, and some said it leaves them a slightly unsteady.
A few lucky tourists were able to experience the simulator on Thursday, but the official grand opening of the Shuttle Launch Experience is set for Memorial Day Weekend.
