NASA Museum

Acquiring "NASA Museum" and "U.S. Spaceflight" is undoubtedly, so far, my crowning achievement in collecting software that nobody has ever heard of. As previously described in my "Apollo 18" review, I found producer Allan Kuskowski's website/resume nearly 15 years ago, in which, as well as "Apollo 18", he claimed to have produced these two educational titles. They were said to be published by the aptly named Saturn Five Ltd., which I assume is an offshoot of AIM Software, which would probably explain why no one's ever heard of them. They did have a website, though, which lists these products along with some others which I don't think ever got released... maybe I'll review them if I do find them.

Anyway, after speaking to Stephen Russell at iiRE Productions about "Mars Mission Simulation" and learning it was never released, and based on Kuskowski's showreel on YouTube showing some rather cheap trailers of these two products, I started to doubt these were ever actually produced and released, either.

Then, just a few months ago, I found them on eBay. A seller in the UK had a copy of "U.S. Spaceflight" for sale, and I bought it quite quickly. Now I knew for sure they were real. Seizing on the opportunity, I checked to see if "NASA Museum" was up there too. It was! A handful of copies were being sold at that moment. Since they were in the US, I did end up paying more than what I did for "U.S. Spaceflight", but at least now I could prove to the world that they were, in fact, made and sold.

I think I've put it off long enough; it's time to dive into this one of the pair that piqued my interest the most, "NASA Museum".

Actually, its full title is "NASA Manned Spaceflight Museum", but I'm just going by the box here. Truth be told, that longer title is more accurate, considering the fact that no space probes are mentioned in this software package. Saying that, though, I'm going to assume these two share most of the same content, but package it in two very different ways. "NASA Museum"'s big selling point it that it's set inside a large wheel-like building you can move around in, with interactive exhibits, a la Dorling Kindersley's "Eyewitness Virtual Reality" series. Those were splendid pieces of software, and I was half-expecting this to be something like them. Then again, perhaps I give these guys too much credit.

I turn on my PCem Win95 VM, load the first disk, try to start it up from the Explorer - and I find the installer doesn't work. It never works. It throws up an error every time I try. Did they even test the installer before committing to a general release?

That's when you either take the thing back to the store where you bought it, or discover that you can start the program by double-clicking on "Start.exe" in the CD directory. This takes you to the central kiosk, and an introduction to the museum and its individual areas, narrated by Mary Vandiver, returning from "Apollo 18".

Looks like you might have a... selection.

You may notice that the program is portrayed like a real-life location, with references to its open-all-hours policy, the gift shop, and restrooms (which are actually nowhere to be found).

So, 8 disks for 8 buildings. Sort of. Each has about half an hour of material on it. The history covered in this program covers the formation of NASA briefly, then goes from the Mercury programme up to the development of the International Space Station, as well as a concept for a manned Mars mission. Each disk has its own boundaries within the museum. When you cross these boundaries, you'll be told which disc to insert and which "Start" executable to open before quitting, which already makes navigation a hassle. Most other VR-esque programs would simply tell you to insert the next disk and press Enter to continue, thereby loading the new data. That's the streamlined process! Apparently there's a single DVD-ROM version of this software package which probably eliminates all this, but I haven't discovered it.

This brings me to the navigation tools. You don't click on hotspots to move around like you do in "Myst" or "Eyewitness Virtual Reality", no, there's a directional pad at the bottom of the screen. It seems fairly straightforward. Unfortunately, moving forward in the normal way is very slow, and will likely put stress on your mouse fingers, and clicking the buttons repeatedly leads to a buildup of commands and input lag. You'll find yourself wishing the double-forward button was there more often. Sometimes the buttons don't take you where you mean to go, as I discovered when recording the footage. It just makes you yearn for the tried-and-tested hotspot method that the "Myst" series pioneered.

No visible entrance or exit either... how do guests get in?

Anyway, we start with the NASA History building, which is actually building 8 on the museum floor plan.

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DISK 1: NASA

Before entering the building, you'll notice that the walls are lined with photographs. The inner corridors (the spokes inside the wheel-shaped complex) have photographs and drawing pertaining to the area up ahead. Each have a pair of headphones on the wall which, when clicked, offer a brief description by Allan Kuskowski.

As you pass through the giant wooden doors emblazoned with the NASA "meatball" logo, you are greeted by a giant model of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, as well as a few partitions decorated with photographs. Actually, this is a somewhat sparse area, with only three video kiosks. The kiosk on the left has two videos, covering briefly the foundation of NASA (via the National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958), and a titbit on its preceding agency, NACA. The kiosk on the right has only one video, the excerpt of JFK's "We choose to go to the moon" speech, previously seen in the "Apollo 18" software package. In the centre kiosk, there's a video about the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and an overview of the original ten-year plan to put Americans on the moon before the Soviets. Are these two events tangentially related? Maybe yes - first the Americans and Soviets were racing against each other, next they were co-operating in that period of detente in the 70s. Circumstances can change considerably in 15 years.

It's nice to know that NASA's history can be condensed into these two or three events.

DISK 2: MERCURY (and Museum Store)

 

Moving clockwise around the outer corridors, deep space photography surrounding us (which is really nothing to do with manned spaceflight, but whatever), we come to the Mercury Building. But before we go in, let's take a quick look at the musem store, which juts out from the spoke leading into this building.

Whatever I was expecting from this part, I still managed to gain disappointment. Going back to "Eyewitness Virtual Reality" again, those titles had museum stores of their own, with a wealth of printable stationery as well as desktop sounds and wallpapers. That's what you expect from a museum store, right? A bunch of goodies? This one is more a sort of library, with a bunch of web addresses, as well as plugs for "Apollo 18", "U.S. Spaceflight", and two other games, "Groom Lake" and "Stardust", which I doubt was even released... although if this made it into production, then there's always a possibility that these did. If I ever find them, you can bet I'll run a feature on them. The leaflet that came in the box states there are "simulation handbooks" as well, but I haven't uncovered them, either. Shame, really, you'd have at least thought there'd be an easter egg or something, maybe even an early type of microtransaction- no nonononono. Let's not go there.

Quiet please!

That aside, heading back into the Mercury wing, we run into... a wall! In front of it sits another kiosk with a video overview of Project Mercury. Turning left and going around, we find six life-size replicas of the same Mercury capsule (which could be justified if each had the markings of their respective missions). Beside them, a model of the Mercury-Redstone Launch Vehicle used to propel the first two Mercury missions into their sub-orbital trajectories. Bizarrely, this model is also referred to as the Jupiter-C, which was built on the same missile system, but was a different booster besides, namely the one that put Explorer I into orbit. Stationed before the models are kiosks explaining their respective mission and the man who occupied them. One more kiosk at the aft end of the Redstone is a repeat of the "We choose to go to the moon" excerpt... just in case you missed it the first time.

Incidentally, NASA hosts 3D models of all the Mercury capsules too... wonder what they'd look like in here?

DISK 3: GEMINI

This disc is similar to the first one, but this time with twelve replicas of the Gemini capsule, as well as the Titan II GLV, which is the first thing you see as you walk left around the divider. The Titan II was already a formidable thing, serving as an ICBM until 1987. And what do they do? They mislabel it as the "Atlas" missile!

Notably NOT the Atlas rocket.

That is a MONUMENTAL mistake. The Atlas WAS repurposed as a launch vehicle, but it was for the orbital Mercury missions, not the Gemini ones! THEY WERE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT BOOSTERS.

I will admit this: I know less about Gemini than I do of Mercury and Apollo. I know how Gemini 8 nearly ended badly, but was saved by Neil Armstrong at the last moment, thanks in part to First Man and From the Earth to the Moon. I know Gemini 4 saw the first American spacewalk. And I know about the Agena Target Vehicle, and the rendezvous of Gemini 6A and 7. (Officially it's called Gemini 6A; the original Gemini 6 was cancelled when the Atlas-Agena Target Vehicle launch blew up shortly after launch.) So I wasn't expecting this software to teach me things I probably should have known anyway, but I didn't. Take, for example, how Gemini 11 was the first mission to generate artificial gravity in space, as well as a computer system determining its landing spot.

Is it "Jemmi-nee" or "Jemmi-nye"?

Here, you'll notice how each mission's crew video introduces the astronauts in more or less the same way, which became tedious very quickly as I was recording this. For some reason, Gemini 8 does NOT get a crew video. You'll just have to see Neil Armstrong and David Scott later, I guess.

DISK 4: APOLLO

The smaller building outside the Apollo wing is marked as "Future Attractions", which, if they ever went ahead, would've included information on the Russian space program. I thought this would've gone beyond the scope of this software, but there was indeed some NASA work on the space station Mir, as well as Roscosmos' ISS modules, so the days when the two space programs co-operated would qualify. The program itself also labels this building at "Simulator 1", which would likely have included some Mars-related games. Anyway, this building is closed. There could've been anything behind that doorway.

Pardon our dust.

Anyhow, herein are mockups of the manned Apollo command modules - all basically chromium cones with windows in the sides. Except for the first one, which is evidently charred. This is where the horrific Apollo 1 tragedy is summarised, as well as its victims. Each astronaut's description ends the same way, when they could've just summed it up with "They all died in the Apollo 1 fire." You'd think they'd go into a bit more detail on this, though, would you not, on its effects on not just the Apollo programme, but the space programme in general?

Actually, they fit more content on this disk, making about 50 minutes' worth. Mainly since Apollo was the big one, after all. All eleven manned Apollo missions are covered here, from 1, then 7, all the way up to 17. The Apollo 14 capsule is fitted to a mockup of the entire CSM assembly, and in the centre of the room, the Lunar Module itself. You can climb the ladder and get a good look around the room from the porch. Lovely. The LM and CSM kiosks reuse footage of Jim Waters in "Apollo 18". In one corner of the room is an elevator which you can ride down underground, where a model of the Saturn V rocket resides, but for that, you'll have to switch to disk 8.

Not a bad view!

At this point, the crew video conundrum becomes dire. In at least two crew videos, the same thing is repeated of ALL THREE ASTRONAUTS. It's like "I know, YOU LITERALLY TOLD US THIS TEN SECONDS AGO!!!" Watch the recording and you'll understand my frustration.

DISK 5: SKYLAB

Skylab was brief in comparison to the first three manned space programmes, but it was by no means insignificant. Being the first US space station (and so far, the only US-exclusive one), it housed an orbital workshop, a solar observatory, Earth observation and hundreds of experiments. It had a shaky start, to say the least, but they managed to get some good out of it. Apparently the crew of Skylab 4 actually mutinied! Not something I expected of astronauts, that's for certain!

The video kiosks are placed in the corners of this building; two describe the launch of Skylab and its subsequent missions and crew, the last one covers life on Skylab. It seems these are clips lifted from a documentary. If I ever find its title, I'll be sure to drop it here.

You see that model of Skylab? You can walk inside it!

It appears to be on its side, but in microgravity, that wouldn't matter. Pity you can't look up when you're inside.

DISK 6: SPACE SHUTTLE (and Quiz)

Since I was born and raised during the Space Shuttle's time, I have a lot of nostalgia for the STS programme, and I expected it to be represented just a bit more than it actually is here. Again, it was a bit of a damp squib. But first, let's check out the Quiz Department. Here, you have a choice of being asked questions from a variety of subjects, or even be asked all of them. Every question is based on facts that you pick up throughout the museum. You'll have to pardon my performance, I wasn't paying attention the whole time. Incidentally, this section appears to have been based on an 800x600 resolution, whereas the rest of the program is in 640x480. (Could've done with knowing that before.)

Quiz

Entering the Space Shuttle wing, you get to look up at a model of the Shuttle in its launch configuration, including a painted external tank like the ones flown in STS-1 and 2. There's also an elevator here to take you higher up the gantries from where you can get a good view. You can't go inside, though. No boarding the replica. Sorry.

No, you can't go any higher. This is it.

There are four kiosks here, all about the function of the Space Shuttle and how it launches. And that's it. Nothing about how it lands, nothing about the histories of the orbiters and their fates, or even highlights of the numerous missions over the years. Although there is a good point about how the cargo bay could double as a laboratory with its own module. Sadly, after the Columbia tragedy, even that was phased out, and the Shuttle was relegated to construction of the ISS right up to the end of its working life.

By the way, the Shuttle videos are also from a hitherto unidentified documentary. Unforttunately I don't have the drive to go hunting for it. Does anyone know what it's from?

DISK 7: ISS

Construction had yet to begin on the International Space Station when this program was published, so what you see here is based partly on speculation. The paintings lining the walls leading into this exhibit are all concept illustrations of the station as it went through its design phase. What this software doesn't mention, however, is how it was borne on the proposals for Space Station Freedom, before it became a collaborative effort with other national space programmes.

You see that space station? You can walk inside it!

Besides the two kiosks exploring the station's construction, costs and benefits, there's a huge model which you can actually enter and look around. It's very rudimentary, of course, and looks nothing like what actually went to space, but it's the thought that counts. And hey - there are two observatory areas inside where you can actually get a good view of the station and the fake earthscape around you! Can you imagine if they actually installed a glass tube on the station to float through and observe from, though? Seems like a health hazard, although they'd probably use stronger glass for it.

DISK 8: MARS (+ Simulators and Saturn V exhibit)

 

Now we get into the distant (and uncertain) future, with a concept for a manned Mars mission. The creators came back to explore this later with their "Mars Mission Simulation", which never came out, and this appears to be a kind of prototype of the craft seen in that game.

Preceding this exhibit, however, there is the Simulation Building. There are two here: a landing simulator and a star finder. I'd play them, of course, but there's one problem: they don't work. Not the way they're meant to. I go into the landing sim, I pick a difficulty, the controls appear on screen, and that's it. I can fiddle with the controls all I like, but nothing happens. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I figure if I could get this program to install correctly, it might work. Alas, no such luck. 

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The star finder game works a little better. It's in a similar vein to the star finder portion of "Apollo 18", but this time you have a library of star pattern templates to line the camera up to. The game recognises these patterns when I find them, but I think it's meant to give me a certain position to find as well, but I just entered the game with no information to work off of. Too bad this software doesn't come with a manual, because it'd probably tell me I'm doing something wrong.

Where am I going with this?

Along the corridor leading into the Mars exhibit are photographs from the Mars Pathfinder, as well as renderings of the decks of the lander prototype within. This is the Explorer 1, not to be confused with the Explorer I satellite. It's a nuclear-powered spacecraft launched on a shuttle stack and can make a journey from Earth to Mars in about 180 days, provided that the two planets are in conjunction. The kiosks outline the little details of this proposed flight. Of course, with later technological advancements, things might be very different now, but I'm not one to say.

See that Martian lander? You can walk inside it!

You know, now I think about it, these explorable models remind me of those halcyon days in ActiveWorlds.

Well, that's all the wings of the museum - but there's one more area to see: the underground Saturn V exhibit leading from the Apollo disk. Similar to the Space Shuttle exhibit, you can ride the elevator to each stage of the rocket and get up close to it. The kiosks reuse footage from "Apollo 18" to discuss the dimensions of the rocket, including the dodgy SIV-B diagram.

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"NASA Museum" is exhaustive, and yet, at the same time, not. It takes everything you might know about America's manned space programme and synthesizes it into a walking simulator, though not quite with the panache of the "Eyewitness Virtual Reality" series. If these disks are anything to go by, however, then the reason it's not at all known becomes somwhat obvious.

All of its problems aside, I do think this is an interesting premise, partly because I'm a sucker for these 90s walking sims, but also because I'm a believer in our space programmes. Educating the public on what space exploration has done and can do for us is a respectable thing, especially when done in an accessible way like this. If any expansions were made for this, they'd go quite a way. But of course, since nobody bought this, no such undertaking happened.

As previously indicated, I uploaded my copy to the Internet Archive, so you too can play around with it, maybe get those simulators working, since I obviously couldn't. But whatever you do with it, you'll probably get some enjoyment out of it, as I did.