The Rendezvous Docking Simulator at NASA's oldest field center was constructed for what program?
Rendezvous Docking Simulator The Rendezvous Docking Simulator, also known as the Real-Time Dynamic Simulator, is a simulator at the Langley Research Center. It was constructed for the Gemini program in Building 1244 and it became operational in June 1963 at a cost of $320,000 and later reconfigured for the Apollo program. The simulator consists of a gantry frame, with an overhead carriage from which test craft were suspended by cables. A gimbal was powered hydraulically and was capable of changing pitch and yaw at a rate of 1 radian per second or roll at 2 radians per second. The gantry also moved like an overhead crane using electric motors and was capable of travelling 210 ft longitudinally at up to 20 ft/s , 16 ft laterally at up to 4 ft/s and vertically 45 ft at up to 10 ft/s .
STS-70 STS-70 was the 21st flight of the Space Shuttle "Discovery", and the last of 7 shuttle missions to carry a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS). This was the first shuttle mission controlled from the new mission control center room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. STS-70 was also the first flight of the new Block 1 orbiter main engine, designed to improve both engine performance and safety. The mission was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 13 July 1995, only six days after the landing of sister ship "Atlantis", marking the fastest turnaround between flights in the history of the program.