This page is built for one job: give you usable media for Space Shuttle simulation. Not random “cool clips” - media you can use to (1) understand phases like launch/MECO/orbit/entry/landing, (2) build cockpit familiarity, and (3) add authentic atmosphere to S3 with real NASA-era audio.
1) Shuttle landing videos (train your entry/landing eye)
If you keep crashing or floating forever, you’re probably treating the Shuttle like a normal airplane. Landing footage helps because you can study the real timing: approach profile, flare cues, touchdown behavior, and rollout. Watch with a purpose: pause at key moments and compare what you do in the sim.
STS-129 - Space Shuttle Atlantis landing (NASA)
Reference landing footage: use it to study approach attitude, flare timing, and rollout behavior. Watch STS-129 on YouTube
STS-131 - Space Shuttle Discovery landing (“On at the 180”) (NASA)
A strong training clip for the final turn and energy management before touchdown. Watch STS-131 on YouTube
STS-127 - Space Shuttle Endeavour landing (NASA)
Good for comparing touchdown behavior and rollout control between missions and conditions. Watch STS-127 on YouTube
2) Launch and mission audio (immersion + phase awareness)
Audio is not just “vibes.” Proper mission audio gives you phase cues: the rhythm of comms, the intensity around critical moments, and the feeling of timeline pressure. NASA provides historical sound collections with downloadable files (including Shuttle sounds) in common formats like MP3, and also ringtone formats like M4R.
What to do with mission audio in S3
- Build a phase playlist: launch loop, on-orbit loop, entry/landing loop.
- Keep it subtle: loud audio masks important sim cues and makes you miss checklist steps.
- Use it as a timer: certain callouts and sequences can help you “feel” when you’re late.
For large collections, the Internet Archive hosts NASA audio highlight reels and mission packages digitized and cataloged by NASA Johnson Space Center’s audio control room. That’s useful if you want a deep library instead of a few short clips. Internet Archive
3) Reference imagery (stop guessing cockpit and vehicle details)
When you’re building panels or trying to understand cockpit zones, fan art is useless. You want authoritative imagery: NASA’s Image and Video Library and official Shuttle galleries. Use them for:
- Cockpit layout study: panel clusters, seat positions, typical camera angles.
- Hardware build references: switch types, labeling style, guard covers, spacing.
- Mission context: payload bay, external tank/booster staging, landing gear details.
Practical method: pick one phase you’re training (launch or entry). Pull 10–20 images/videos only for that phase. If you download thousands of pictures, you’re not researching - you’re avoiding the work. NASA Image and Video Library
4) A simple “media training loop” (use this, or you’ll waste time)
- Watch one landing video and write down 3 concrete cues you will copy (not “be smoother” - real cues).
- Fly one sim run focused only on those cues.
- Rewatch the same video and check what you missed. Update your cues.
- Repeat until you can reproduce a clean landing without improvising.
This turns “media consumption” into skill. If you just binge videos, you get entertainment - not better performance.
Bottom line: Use NASA landing footage to train timing and energy management, use historical NASA audio for atmosphere and phase cues, and use official NASA imagery to keep your cockpit and hardware references real. Everything else is noise.