Reference articles on history, science, culture and more
Encyclopedia

Space Shuttle Project

1991 video game

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Space Shuttle Project is an action video game released in 1991 by Absolute Entertainment for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was one of the few vehicle simulators not to be released for the personal computer.

01Gameplay

The object of Space Shuttle Project is to successfully launch and fly one of NASA's historic Space Shuttles as a shuttle commander. Gameplay is composed of several different types of missions, each broken up into short mini-games.

Players are first required to activate oxygen and hydrogen pumps in addition to getting additional crew members into the shuttle within a strict time limit. Crew members are transported to certain parts of the ship by moving an elevator up and down while avoiding moving bumpers. Then, the player must successfully launch the shuttle into space by performing quick time events that correspond to particular shuttle launch maneuvers such as booster rocket separation. Once in space, one of several missions will be played where the player must control the astronaut by maneuvering him/her around hazards, replenish his air supply before the timer runs out, and deliver components for the Space Station Freedom to their correct locations. A cosmonaut from the Soviet Union must also be rescued in the game.

Players that fail to maintain a flawlessly working space shuttle will see the entire shuttle mission fail. Every mission has a lengthy list of secondary objectives that require speed, patience in addition to pure trial and error.

A complete shuttle guidance system is included in the game's instruction manual. Finally, the player must land the shuttle by again performing Quick Time Events that correspond to landing maneuvers before finally landing at Edwards Air Force Base. Players get a congratulations screen featuring then-US president George H. W. Bush after finishing all six missions.

The second mission of this video game requires players to build a space station.
The second mission of this video game requires players to build a space station.

02Reception

Allgame gave Space Shuttle Project a score of 2.5 points out of a possible 5.

Watch videos about Space Shuttle ProjectExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Space Shuttle Project, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.