Key contributors (core impact)
These are the contributions that directly moved the project forward. If you use S3 or build hardware around it, you’re standing on this work.
Manuel Bessler
Electronics support and hands-on help with the hardware side of the cockpit build. This is the kind of contribution that saves months, because solid electronics is the difference between a cockpit that works and a cockpit that looks good once and then fails.
Mikael Lundberg
Creator of the Space Shuttle Simulator software itself. Without the simulator core, there is no cockpit workflow, no procedures, no mission runs - just a box of switches.
Jos Buurman
Provided webspace/hosting and helped with the website layout. This matters more than people admit: if downloads and documentation aren’t stable and accessible, the project effectively dies.
Gene Harm
Provided reference information about the Orbiter interior. Accurate interior references are essential for cockpit realism and for building panels that match real shuttle workflows instead of fantasy layouts.
Sponsor support (money that keeps the project alive)
VVS - Vereniging Voor Sterrenkunde supported this project financially. That funding is not “nice to have”; it covers the unglamorous parts like hosting, materials, and keeping development moving when costs show up. If you’ve ever built cockpit hardware, you already know how fast small expenses turn into a real budget.
Donor roll (direct support)
These supporters helped with donations or direct contributions. If you see your name here, it means you did something tangible.
- Tibor Loke - contributed a Space Shuttle book (reference material)
- Antoon Cordemans - donated money
- Eric Scott Diaz - donated money
- Richard Jackson - donated money
- Loren Foret - donated money
- Chris Hesse - donated money
- Marco Huyben - donated money
- Veli-Matti Katajisto - donated money
How to support (if you want your name on this page)
If you want to help, don’t overthink it. Pick one of these and do it:
- Cash support: helps pay for hosting, downloads, prototype electronics, and cockpit materials.
- Hardware help: switches, encoders, connectors, panels, wiring tools - practical parts matter.
- Reference material: high-quality cockpit/interior references that improve realism and reduce guesswork.
- Testing + bug reports: reproducible steps, not vague complaints. “What I did, what I expected, what happened.”
One rule: support that reduces friction is worth more than compliments. If you use S3 seriously, contribute something real.