The sign accompanying the Lunar Module Mission Simulator. It reads
Grumman Lunar Module Simulator
Grumman/Link
Bethpage and Binghamton, NY 1968
The Lunar Module (LM) Mission Simulator, a large, complex device, was in
operation at the Kennedy Space Center between 1968 and 1972. Cameras, filming
a model of the lunar surface, projected the image in front of the LM windows so
the astronauts would feel as if they were actually maneuvering for a landing on
the Moon. Every Apollo astronaut trained on it before going to the Moon. Only
one was built, and remarkably, it survived in good condition. This is a very
historically significant artifact, one of the few key pieces remaining from the
Apollo program.
On Loan: National Air & Space Museum
Actually, there were two Lunar Module Mission Simulators built; one was located
at the Manned Spacecraft Center (today the Johnson Space Center) and the other at
the Kennedy Space Center. Both have
survived and are in good condition; the other is at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. The Cradle of
Aviation exhibits a portion of the accompanying instructor console, while
the USSRC does not.
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