This isn't a mere plane simulator; you can't just push a button and take off! All the procedures that you must follow are the same as the ones in the real shuttle! It takes twelve game hours to launch (fortunately, there is time compression, and you can get through this stage very quickly!)

The cockpit graphics are great and very realistic! There are more than 2,050 buttons to push, and more than 50 screens in the cockpit! You can view the control panel in 5 different ways. The missions are based on missions flown in real life by the various space shuttles. The last mission of the game is the repair of the Hubble space telescope in 1994. In the game you also must test the MMU or RMS, among many other things.

The images are generated based on the cloudless Earth databases created by the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center from the MODIS instrument onboard the Terra satellite. The image of the Earth by night is based on nine months of observation by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program. For further information and additional images, visit the NASA Earth Observatory site.

A reasonable graphical accelerator card and DirectX support are required.

Outlines, boundaries, and names of constellations can be displayed, as well as names and Bayer/Flamsteed designations of stars brighter than a given threshold. A database of more than 500 deep-sky objects, including all the Messier objects and bright NGC objects can be plotted to a given magnitude. The ecliptic and celestial equator can be plotted, complete with co-ordinates.

To fulfill its mission as a screen saver, the sky map shifts position on the display every 10 minutes to avoid burning in those few components of the display which do not move as the Earth revolves.

Day and night cycles now show improved light/shadow simulation on the terrain. When the user lands on the surface, the Lander is placed there. Several "points of interest" boulders have been added throughout the landscape, and the user may drive to them. The user interface now shows meters traversed and battery life remaining. The battery usage is NOT simulated according to real time scale. There are three additional rock types. Up to date paragraphs and images have been added to the information text shown during the roving experience.