Now, does a software simulator count? When I’m bored at work I’ll fire up Orbiter: http://orbit.medphys.ucl.ac.uk/. Occasionally I’ll make it at least 10 feet off the pad before exploding!

Little known fact about the STS – apparently every single switch in the cockpit enables “blow up instantly” mode during launch.

Well, I’ve used the model of Cassini we keep in the office for knowing what the heck the spacecraft was doing when it took our data — in my case, it’s useful for figuring out the orientation of the spectrometer, and making sure no one has the other port pointing at something while I use the solar port. (My adviser also uses it for planning observations.) It’s a simulation of a spacecraft, albeit a robotic one.

Has no one else been to Space Camp??!! I’ve totally experienced what it’s like to be inside a space shuttle and complete a mission, as a mission specialist (fixing the hubble telescope) and as a payload specialist. Hehe, best summer camp ever.

I used the space shuttle simulator as an intern in Houston when I was an undergrad. I crashed it immediately.