NASA space shuttle simulator joins Lone Star Flight Museum exhibit

As of April 12, a NASA space shuttle simulator has joined Lone Star Flight Museum’s permanent collection at 11551 Aerospace Ave, Houston.

Retired astronaut Bonnie J. Dunbar, who also is an aerospace engineering professor at Texas A&M University and a member of the museum’s board, worked alongside volunteers to restore the simulator, which took about 5,000 hours of work.

The simulator is a full-scale replica of the flight deck of a space shuttle orbiter. It features windowed display screens that provided simulated views during various phases of flight, and it has motion systems to realistically replicate a space shuttle’s movements.

The simulator was built in 1976 to support approach and landing tests of Space Shuttle Enterprise. It was first used on Jan. 9, 1979, to support flight crew training.

The simulator was operated for decades at Johnson Space Center but was removed after the final space shuttle mission in 2011 to make room for NASA’s new spaceflight training hardware.

The Lone Star Flight Museum is a nonprofit museum featuring historic aircraft and achievements in Texas aviation.

346-708-2517. www.lonestarflight.org