Hubble Grapple

FAST FACTS:

• Standalone operation - no attendant required

• Operates on standard, off-the-shelf PC hardware

• High throughput (approximately 3 minutes per flight)

• Beautiful, detailed 3-D scenery including the Earth, Hubble Space Telescope, Space Shuttle Orbiter, and Remote Manipulator System (or RMS, the Shuttle's robot arm).

• Realistic RMS control and satellite contact dynamics, illustrating some of the challenges of interacting with objects in a free-floating environment.

• Unique dual-screen presentation, with one screen showing an exterior perspective view of the operation and the other showing the view from the robot arm's end effector (its "hand").

      Hubble Grapple Movie (4.83 MB)

SHOW SEQUENCES:

• Attract Sequence - continuous loop of graphics and audio; calls visitors' attention to the exhibit. The guest moves the joystick to start the show. (Note: The venue logo can be integrated into the Attract Sequence graphics.)

• Mission Briefing - hosted by computer-based "Roger," this audio-visual briefing describes the grapple mission and instructs the pilot on how to use the robot arm controls.

• Flight Sequence - the guest's hands-on grapple attempt. If the attempt succeeds with time to spare, the guest is further allowed to park the Hubble Telescope in the payload bay berthing mechanism.

• Wrap-up Sequence - "Roger" thanks the guest, offering congratulations if the grapple was a success. The show then returns to the Attract sequence.

 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS:

• 2 CPUs (one to drive each view), each equipped as follows:

•  2.8GHz Pentium IV or better 

•  Windows XP (Home or Pro)

•  512MB RAM 

•  AGP 4x/8x w/ 128MB Graphics Card

•  100 Mbps Ethernet capability

•  Sound card

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