2006-12-09

asher553: (Default)
Well, this is just cooler than cool:

A-OK - The Wings of Mercury:  Project Mercury flight simulator.

A-OK! The Wings of Mercury is a realistic simulation of the Mercury spacecraft. It features 3D graphics, fully functional control panels, networked simulations, and a complete manual. Available on Windows XP and Mac OS X.

A-OK! WoM is so realistic, you will use the actual checklists used by the astronauts. Orbital and Sub-Orbital missions can be simulated. Orbital missions and a Mission Control Center simulator are available to registered users. ...

I confess I'm glued to the computer.  This program puts you in the space capsule and lets you fly the same missions flown by America's first astronauts - Shepard, Grissom, Glenn, Carpenter, Schirra, and Cooper - in the early 1960s.  You can run it in the autopilot mode to get familiar with it, and then practice simple situations like if the emergency escape rocket fails to separate (quick!  which switch do you switch?).  You can practice with the yaw, pitch, and roll controls, keeping the spent booster rocket in view as it falls away.  And that's just the basic stuff.  The guy who created it did a ton of research on Project Mercury, and it shows.  It even supplies the names, ages, and sizes of the original astronauts.  You can also create your own astronaut profile, and the sim adjusts for the height and body weight you put in.

Gotta run.  I'm going to be late for my next launch ...
asher553: (Default)
Well, for the Mercury simulator at least.  I indulged in a bit of alternate-history roleplaying and created a profile for one of the "Mercury Thirteen" - the thirteen women astronaut candidates who almost, but not quite, got to be part of the Mercury program.

When I created the profile I put in the following information:

1.  Name:  Geraldyn "Jerrie" Cobb.
2.  Weight:  115 lbs.
3.  Sex:  Female.
And I got the following error message:

This applicant is not within the original requirements for Project Mercury.
Weight:  140 to 175 pounds.
Hmmm.  Somehow I don't remember that being the issue.....

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