Microsoft, NASA Allow For 3D Shuttle View

C|Net reports that a 3D software version of the space shuttle Endeavor is in the works, thanks to a collaboration project between Microsoft and NASA. The Photosynth viewer will allow fans of the space program an unprecedented level of detail in examining the shuttle and its surrounds at the Kennedy Space Center. ""It's much like a 3D video game--people can explore, walk around or fly around the shuttle," said Adam Sheppard, group product manager for Microsoft Live Labs, which developed the viewer. NASA said that the project could lead to more initiatives with the software giant. Chris Kemp, director of strategic business development at NASA's Ames Research Center, said that, for example, NASA could use the Photosynth technology on future space missions for activities such as inspecting the International Space Station and viewing landing sites on the moon."

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Great

[Mad Quacker]

Another PR stunt coming out of an engineering boondoggle that has tied up US (and human) spaceflight for 30 years. Might as well have made it look like a giant cricket. Let's make a space truck that looks like a plane and can only possibly go a few miles above the planet, like driving from here to Jersey but with a serious hazard of blowing up. Yes I want the 3D model of this on my desktop to remind me that people take pride in failure.

Real science is done on rockets. Politicians and bureaucrats should be kept arms length from science and engineering. NASA needs to forget the shuttle.