How do I fly the Space Shuttle in FlightGear?

To fly the Space Shuttle in FlightGear, install a compatible Shuttle aircraft package, select one of its supplied launch, orbit, re-entry or approach states, then follow that model’s help for custom controls. Begin with an approach: the orbiter lands as a steep, unpowered glider, so energy management matters more than throttle handling.

Which Space Shuttle flight should I choose first?

Choose a final-approach or landing state for your first FlightGear Shuttle flight; launch and re-entry demand much more knowledge of the individual aircraft package.

Not every Shuttle model supports all these phases. Some are atmospheric landing trainers, while others include orbital systems and a complete launch stack. Use a state supplied with the aircraft: placing an orbiter at altitude does not give it orbital velocity, and an ordinary runway start may leave its advanced systems inactive.

How do I install the Space Shuttle in FlightGear?

The Shuttle must be packaged for FlightGear and appear in its aircraft browser before you can select it. If needed, first install the base FlightGear package from our download page; our guide to finding and adding more FlightGear aircraft covers the general add-on process.

1. Search the aircraft catalogue: Look in the FlightGear launcher for a Shuttle or orbiter package. Naming and availability differ between package collections; use the launcher’s installer when one is offered.
2. Extract manual packages correctly: Put the complete aircraft in a separate, writable aircraft directory. The model folder should contain its *-set.xml file and associated subfolders, while FlightGear’s aircraft path should point to the directory containing that model folder.
3. Check for extra nesting: If an archive produces wrapper folders above the directory containing *-set.xml, remove the unnecessary level or register the correct parent directory.
4. Reload the list: Restart or refresh the launcher and select the exact aircraft entry it displays rather than guessing the model’s internal name.
5. Read the aircraft help: Check the package documentation and FlightGear’s aircraft-help panel after loading. Ignition, staging, speed brake, reaction-control and autopilot commands are not standardised between Shuttle add-ons.

Keep downloaded aircraft out of FlightGear’s core application files. A separate directory prevents protected-folder permission problems, makes a faulty package easy to remove and reduces the risk of an update overwriting it.

Which FlightGear controls does the Shuttle use?

Pitch and roll usually use your configured axes, but the landing gear, body flap, speed brake, reaction-control system and launch sequence may have aircraft-specific commands.

• Calibrate the joystick and remove duplicate pitch, roll or yaw assignments before loading a mission.
• Use our reference for standard keyboard and flight-control bindings for the base controls, but treat the Shuttle package’s help as authoritative where it overrides them.
• Confirm that the flight-control system and hydraulics are active if the surfaces do not respond, and check whether an automatic mode has control.
• Use aerodynamic surfaces in meaningful atmosphere and the reaction-control system in space, where the wings and rudder have little or no effect.
• Do not expect throttle to rescue a landing. A realistic orbiter has no usable propulsion for a runway go-around.

How do I land the Space Shuttle in FlightGear?

Fly a steep, stable approach, correct excess or insufficient energy early, pre-flare into a shallow landing path and lower the gear only when the runway is assured.

1. Load a landing-ready state: Use the package’s prepared approach with its systems already configured. Select daylight, light wind and little turbulence while learning, then use FlightGear’s map to check your position and ground track.
2. Establish the outer glide: A Shuttle-style approach is far steeper than an airliner’s three-degree path. Real-orbiter reference values were roughly 18–20 degrees and 280–310 knots before the pre-flare, but the model’s guidance and displayed units take priority.
3. Manage energy early: Use pitch to hold the requested speed or angle of attack. If high or fast, adjust the heading-alignment turn and apply speed brake progressively; if low, reduce drag and shorten the ground track. Pulling up simply to make the runway appear closer wastes speed and range.
4. Pre-flare smoothly: A realistic profile begins reducing the steep descent at roughly 2,000 feet above the runway. Raise the nose progressively towards the shallow final path without ballooning or making an airliner-style flare at the threshold.
5. Extend the gear late: Follow the aircraft’s gear cue, normally in the final few hundred feet once landing is certain. Early extension adds drag that cannot be recovered with power.
6. Complete the rollout: Touch down on the main gear, lower the nose under control, then use the modelled speed brake, drag chute and wheel brakes. Typical Shuttle-style touchdown speeds are around 190–210 knots, although the package’s flight model may require a different figure.

There is no conventional go-around after committing to land. If the orbiter is unrecoverably low, reset the approach state and revise the energy plan rather than trying to save it with throttle. Simplified models may also depart substantially from real Shuttle speeds and aerodynamics.

How do launch, orbit and re-entry work?

A complete mission works only if the selected FlightGear aircraft supplies the launch stack, orbital systems, guidance and suitable starting states.

How do I launch the Shuttle?

Load the model’s full-stack launch configuration and follow its checklist or sequencer. Confirm that the external tank and boosters are present; spawning an orbiter at an airport and advancing the ordinary throttle will not create the stack or its staging logic.

Detailed models ignite the main engines before the solid rocket boosters and use custom commands for launch release and separation. Keep automatic guidance engaged unless manual ascent is explicitly supported. Once realistic solid boosters ignite, they cannot be throttled or shut down; if no full-stack state exists, assume that package is intended for landing or re-entry practice.

How do I control the Shuttle in orbit?

Orbit depends on high horizontal velocity, not altitude alone. Use the modelled orbital manoeuvring system for burns and its reaction-control system for attitude changes; ordinary elevator and rudder inputs become ineffective outside the atmosphere.

What changes during re-entry?

Begin with the package’s prepared re-entry state unless its documentation supplies a complete deorbit procedure. Hold the commanded high nose-up angle of attack, because large pitch errors can alter heating and move the landing point substantially.

Control range with bank: steeper bank reduces vertical lift and dissipates energy faster, while shallower bank preserves downrange distance. Roll reversals manage direction and cross-range. As the atmosphere thickens, transition from reaction controls to aerodynamic control, follow the heading-alignment turn and establish the steep runway approach.

Why does the FlightGear Shuttle not work properly?

Most failures come from an incomplete installation, the wrong starting state or missed aircraft-specific controls rather than FlightGear itself.

Can the Space Shuttle take off from a runway?

No realistic Space Shuttle orbiter takes off from a runway under its own power. It launches vertically with an external tank and solid rocket boosters, then returns as an unpowered glider. Runway take-off capability in a simplified FlightGear model is a convenience, not authentic Shuttle operation.