It's A Short Commute. 100 Miles From Johnson Space Center To Texas A&M

NASA's space shuttle simulator has gotten a new lease on life ... at Texas A & M University in College Station.

The NASA-Texas A&M partnership will allow the university to house and showcase unique space shuttle training artifacts. The Shuttle Motion Simulator provided a full-motion simulation of shuttle launches and landings for every crew that flew on the shuttle. It began operations at JSC in 1977 and was used in training for all 135 space shuttle missions.

At Texas A & M, the sim will once again be made operational. Paul Hill, director of mission operations at JSC, said the sim will be used in the development of new equipment that will be deployed in next-generation spacecraft, according to msnbc.com.

The facility that housed the shuttle simulators at JSC continues to be used for International Space Station training. NASA says the partnership will help ensure that this unique historical artifact and the space shuttle training technology it represents is preserved and used to inspire future engineers. JSC welcomes opportunities for such partnerships that find areas of common interest of benefit to both parties. (Image source NASA)

FMI: www.nasa.gov, www.tamu.edu