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Space Shuttle app for iPhone and iPad


4.6 ( 4356 ratings )
Games Racing Education Simulation
Developer: Laminar Research
1.99 USD
Current version: 9.65, last update: 7 years ago
First release : 20 May 2009
App size: 42.01 Mb

This is SPACE SHUTTLE, with full instructions at www.X-Plane.com. Based on the X-Plane engine, SPACE SHUTTLE lets you really get some cool bits of the Space Shuttle experience, in completely real-time simulation. Nothing is compressed or made unrealistic, but instead the 8.5-minute launch (to 400,000 ft) and last 12 minutes of re-entry (from 200,000 ft, Mach-10) are accurately represented.

Here are the options:

->Launch: This option lets you WATCH the launch in real-time, from 10 seconds left in the count-down, through orbiter-roll, through SRB-separation, though External-Tank separation, right through to low-orbit insertion, at 17,500 mph at 400,000 ft. You wont FLY this launch, but the times and speeds and events are accurately laid out for you to see, so you can finally see what happens AFTER the shuttle leaves sight of the cameras on its flights to space! REALISTIC depiction of the Earth is included, including realistic atmospheric visibility and Earth curvature, so you can see what the view is REALLY like when riding a rocket from sea-level to 400,000 ft.

->ISS Docking. This is a docking sim that gives you full freedom in all 6 dimensions: X, Y, Z, Pitch, Heading, and Roll... This is as tricky as space-flight gets, and YOU will attempt to dock with the ISS... can you handle it? Shuttle and ISS geometry and docking-points are rendered accurately, so you will see the real scale and geometry of both craft.

->Final Approach: Now THIS is one you can FLY like a plane! You will be placed at about 18,000 ft, about 10 or 15 miles short of the runway at Edwards... you will fly clear down to landing on your own! Any decent flight-simmer should be able to handle this one, no problem.

->Near and Distant Re-Entries: THESE are ones that you can fly yourself, and these ones are tricky! I can do them, though, so I know you can, too! You will start off as far as about 600 miles out, at 200,000 ft, Mach-10, well above almost all of the atmosphere, and guide the Orbiter down, by hand, clear to Edwards. The instrumentation in the cockpit is similar to the instrumentation in the real Orbiter, so you will be following the speed, energy, and altitude curves from 200,000 ft all the way down to landing as you S-turn through the stratosphere at Hypersonic speeds. (I am not even slightly kidding or exaggerating. That is the re-entry procedure). Along with pretty accurate instrumentation, help-tips are presented to you in real-time, during the re-entry, to help guide you down, so you should be able to handle it, with enough practice, even if you are not currently familiar with shuttle re-entry procedures. Once you get some practice and get good enough, you will actually start your GLIDE at 600 miles out, 100 miles up, Mach-10, and hand-fly the glider clear to touch-down right on the runway, all in real-time, with pretty accurate physics. It is unlike any plane you have ever flown, or any game you have ever played, but I can do it every time, and one astronaut has hand-flown the entire procedure (rather than leaving it to the autopilot) one time in the history of the shuttle program.

Can YOU do it?

Pros and cons of Space Shuttle app for iPhone and iPad

Space Shuttle app good for

excellent jeu ! on sy croirait !!! je vous le conseille fortement ! note aux devs : il manque la possibilité de voir la terre en orbite...on ne voit que les etoiles. the possibility to see the earth when we are in orbit or more than 100 000 ft (around) is missing. We can only see the stars.
This app is insane. I can land the shuttle. Can you? :) But can you add a free roam. And could you add missions, the international space station, and the ability to dock with the station.
The game was fun and challenging but I would like to see the earth from space. Also it would be nice to control the shuttle from the start, half the fun would be just trying to launch into a statsainable orbit.
Stunning realism, and a fantastically authentic injection of YOU into what has to be the worlds most dangerous job...the pilot of the Space Shuttle! Wickedly smooth flight model, amazing graphics, simple controls and quick access to reseting the flight to different parts of the approach to try it again. The helpful text along the way is fantastic. It makes it actually possible to pull of this insane challenge if youre savvy enough behind the controls and manage your energy well. Took me half a dozen times before I could nail the landing from up-close, now Im attempting from 200,000 feet up at Mach 10. The desktop quality X-Plane flight simulation engine is second to none and really brings this challenge to life. For those that enjoy the idea behind this app, youll likely also love X-Plane Extreme where you can fly the X-15 up to 300,000 feet at nearly Mach 8 after being drop-launched from a B-52 bomber.
Great App ... If it had deploy chutes for braking at the end it would be awesome...
Can you make it so you can just fly around in space or on earth like the other xplanes thanks

Some bad moments

I thought this was a cool game like lots of people so I got it and you do a 8 minute lunch and you cant fly around in space and you can only do a rentrey and final aproch. Dont buy!!
You can actually fly in space in x-plane extreme more than you can in this
This new version seems to have omitted the runway edge lighting. Normally, these lights would be on during evening time settings. Now .... nothing. Regression testing guys!
Successful landing leaves shuttle stuck at 1 mph, never ending flight. Compass and heading bug conflict. Turning amateur. Poor instructions/feedback. Arcade not a sim, could be so much more
bad mission, crashes at start up, dont buy this game its horrible
Why when docking will the shuttle not stop spinning no matter what I do