NASA radio chatter

If you want some NASA background chatter, you can download a package here: http://www.shuttlesim.be/download.html (NASA Sounds)

To install: -Download the package and unzip it
-Locate the radio chatter folder, you find it in X-Plane\Resources\sounds\
-Create a new folder called 'backup' in the radio chatter folder
-Move all soundfiles from the radio chatter folder into the backup folder
-Copy all .wav files from the downloaded NASA chatter package into the radio chatter folder
-Now launch X-Plane and you'll get NASA radio chatter!

What's your favorite Orbiter?

I added a poll to the right site. I would like to find out which is your favorite Orbiter!

Two new Liveries

Two new liveries are ready now: The current Enterprise paintscheme and the fictional Daedalus.


You can see that the windows are painted in an unusual style. Also note the crew hatch pattern.


The tail got some new color as well!
Some more photos of the current real Enterprise scheme: here


The second scheme is the fictional Daedalus from the movie 'Space Cowboys'.
Except from the name, there aren't much differences to the current Orbiters.


Some movies are really strange, in one scene, you can see the NASA logo behind the 'United States', in another you can't...
I decided to keep the logo.


Now we have 16 painschemes from various ages, I think that should be enough. The X-Plane 9 liveries feature is really helpful for such many paints!

List of paints:

Atlantis 1994-1997
Atlantis 2000-2008

Challenger 1984-1985

Columbia 1981
Columbia 1995-1999
Columbia 2002-2003

Discovery 1994-1995
Discovery 1997-1998
Discovery 1998-2007

Endeavour 1992-1996
Endeavour 1998
Endeavour 1998-2007

Enterprise 1977-1983
Enterprise 1983-2008

Daedalus (fictional)
Moonraker (fictional)

Errors in the 3D model

You might see some errors in the 3D model, or some sharp edges or lighting problems.
Don't worry, all these bugs will be fixed!

I'm still working on the current Enterprise scheme and I hope the work on the plugin will start next week.
But we won't hurry, we'll have to wait at least for XP9.10 before we can start to work on some features.

Enterprise

I almost finished the next paint. The pictures below show the 'Enterprise' as seen in 1977 during the ALT program (Orbiter Approach and Landing Test program). The Enterprise wasn't equipped with orbital systems like OMS system or heat tiles, therefore the paint scheme differs quite significantly.
The paint scheme was modified in 1983 for the Paris Air Show to reflect the scheme of the current Orbiters, I'll create this livery as well.

Here's a nice picture of the real Enterprise during the ALT program:
http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/gallery/photo/ALT/HTML/ECN-8611.html



You can see that the tail is much more white than the other Orbiters. Also note the tail cone which was used during the alt program and on SCA carry flights.


The nose looks unusual white, doesn't it? You can see that the OMS thrusters are just painted.
The star trackers will be removed and the nose probe will be added later.

A paper Shuttle

I discovered this site while I was researching about Space Shuttle markings:
http://www.axmpaperspacescalemodels.com/index.html

I was surprised, it offers papermodels for free! I've never build a papermodel before, so I though: Let's try it!
Well, it was actually a bit too small for my big hands, but somehow I managed it. It was a lot of fun! If you're a Shuttle fan, I can highly recommend building one.

Below, you can see some photos.
Yes I know, there are some errors, but hey, it's the first time I did something like that!

Moonraker

I have just watched the James Bond movie Moonraker again (Some strange odds in there!) and I decided to create a custom paint for the Space Shuttle X. The paint is based on a few close ups scenes during the film.
Maybe there are some James Bond fans out there who might enjoy it...

I'm thinking about other fictional liveries for the Space Shuttle X. Maybe the 'Daedalus' from Space Cowboys?