Shuttle-PB

The fictional Shuttle-PB (PTV) is a futuristic, agile single-seater featured in Orbiter space flight simulator (a closed source, freeware simulator by Martin Schweiger). Thanks to the technologies beyond the reach of the modern aerospace industry its propulsion system has a very low fuel consumption (or high specific impulse, if you like) that allows it to reach LEO or low Mars orbit.

The Shuttle was designed primarily for low gravity/low atmoshperic density environments. Although aerodynamically-shaped it generates little lift during the atmospheric flight so its handling qualities are more similar to those of Shuttle-A rather than Delta-glider. However it is spacecraft of choice for those novice Orbiteers on their first jaunts from Martian bases.

Shuttle-PB is included in the standard distribution of Orbiter

Features and Capablities

Shuttle-PB is not capable of horizontal take-off and landing. Aerodynamic control surfaces are not supported in the latest version.

The exact nature of the propolusion system used by the Shuttle remains a mystery. What can be implied from the very high specific impulse is that this technology is well beyond state-of-the art for the beginning of the 21st century, somewhere in the MPD – VASMIR range (compare Table ).

Attitude control is performed via the RCS.

Latest release

The current version (031217) features:

• overall design and textures by Balázs Patyi.
• model improvements by Martin Schweiger

It is part of the standard distribution of Orbiter

History and evolution

The Shuttle-PB has been introduced early in the development of the Orbiter – it was first featured in the [TBD]release. It is based a futuristic concept by Balazs Patyi for a spaceflight capable personal transport vehicle. It was relatively simple and straightforward in its appearance, yet it gained popularity among Orbiteers because its agility and abundant fuel meant it was very forgiving of mistakes. It was included in the basic scenarios for the Olympus and Habana spaceports. It was not modified until release [TBD], where it lost some of its appeal during the attempt to make it more realistic. Most notably, the retro thrusters were removed and the rcs jets are no longer visible as the mesh was not designed to accommodate these features. The removal of the retro thrusters made maneuvering more difficult as one would need to either reorient the ship to utilize the main or hover engines or wait for the much less powerful retro rcs thrusters to perform the same duty. The range was also decreased slightly although it still remained implausible for a vessel of this size and speed.

Development of the Shuttle-PB has been apparently discontinued around release [TBD], as it was not modified for the use with airfoils and instrument panels.

Variations and third-party add-ons

The simplicity and undeniable charm of the original has spurred other Orbiter add-on makers in the Orbiter community to further develop the Shuttle-PB concept. The most notable of those attempts were Shuttle-PB Mk2 by Daniel "McBrain" Kahlhöfer and Shuttle-PB Mk3 by Toni "Tylisirn" Ylisirniö.

See also