Back to the Moon

Sunday, May 17, 2009 Sunday, May 17, 2009

 
I received numerous inquiries regarding the secret location of the amazing Saturn V / Apollo simulator this past week, and today I’ve received permission to publicize the not-so-secret location. It's a construction of Wicked Quasimodo, who built it in and above a space-oriented sandbox. 
The launch site may be found in the Space Frontier sim.

 
If you visit (and I strongly recommend you do), here are your astronaut tips:
  • The rocket launches (meaning “leaves the pad vertically really fast”) at precisely 32 minutes after every hour. You MUST be on board before this happens
  • Be prepared to arrive quite a bit before 32 minutes past the hour, because you’ll want to witness the various preparation activities that take place during the ten minutes or so before the actual launch. You'll see plumbing retracting and locks at the bottom releasing the rocket
  • At the base of the gantry, the “funky computer” on the launch platform gives you a HUD that will broadcast actual Apollo 11 audio tracks at appropriate moments during the simulation
  • Summon the elevator and walk along the gangway that reaches out to the rocket. If the gangway is retracted, you’re too late!
  • Set your world to Midnight. It just isn't the same otherwise
  • Another reason to get there early is to get a seat! There are only four seats in the capsule, get yours early! If you miss out, you'll have to wait another hour for the next ride
  • The door to the capsule doesn’t work, as far as I can tell. To get inside, simply “cam” inside and right-click “sit” on one of the seats
  • Do not under ANY circumstances "stand up" during the flight. You have been warned!
  • Turn your sound up to hear the various announcements that take place, especially during launch
  • Try various camera views, but remember, the rocket travels quite fast and your cam might not keep up
  • Once in orbit, be patient. Things don’t happen right away, so you’ll have to enjoy the amazing view. A Space Navigator is astronomically useful at this point.
  • The last time I visited, there was a garish nightclub floating nearby that kinda disturbed the view. It's a sandbox, after all. Recommend you look in the other direction
And that’s it - I enjoyed the trip immensely, and so can you.

UPDATED - Radar, Haley and I ran through the ride again tonight, and found that the builder has added a LEM landing now! You can move into the Lunar Excursion Module, which detaches and lands on the ground.

3 comments:

Robin said...

Thanks for recommending this Armi! This is a really cool work in progress. Before the advent of Havoc 4, Wicked's Saturn V Apollo 11 to the Moon did the whole flight profile, including a safe landing back on Earth. This version is coming along. You get as far as the Lunar Module unpacking and docking with the Apollo capsule.

Ok, maybe the Space Nerds club doesn't look quite right in Earth orbit if you're sitting in the Apollo capsule, but it's a fun place to hang out and has a great view of the Apollo staging. Duck when the fairing separates, it flies right through the club.

Unknown said...

This is great! Thank you so much for the information - Jerremy and I will be visiting this soon!! WHat I want to know is did you, Haley and Radar wear your Star Trek Unifroms?

ArminasX said...

Yes we did, Tym! See the pictures here:

On the BridgeThru the capsule windowAll of us in capsuleArmi and RadarAfter LEM landing

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