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On EBay: Shuttle Flight Deck Simulator
An anonymous reader writes: "Just to pass time before taking the real trip.
shuttle flight deck simulator" Not a real nasa simulator, but a very impressive operating replica. The construction details are quite interesting too.
Looking at these images it doesn't look like the switchs, buttons and toggles actually control anything. So it is more like a mockup with TV's and lots of switchs that don't do anything (other then maybe lightup). Hardly worth 15,000 dollars for something that just looks intersting but serves no actual function.
Way to follow a link or two there, tough guy.
The auction page quite clearly states that he recieved a grant to build it for a public school that he teaches at. He did not just throw it together in his garage so he could play "make-believe." This simulator was used for 6 years in the school where the students ran 3-hour long missions and learned a thing or two about the space shuttle and space in general.
If I were a student at this school when I was a kid I would have been grateful in the extreme to be able to play around with a simulator of this quality. Who knows how many kids got to experience this sim along with a knowledgeable teacher and decided that they might be interested in persuing a space-related career?
Seems to me that the creator of this thing, a public school teacher, set out to influence the lives of his students in a positive way. Odds are very good that he succeeded. With the kind of attitude that you display, you will never be that lucky.