Space Shuttle Surface Position Indicator as removed from a high fidelity Space Shuttle simulator.
Displays the deflection angles of aerodynamic surfaces of the Space Shuttle, including the wing elevons, the body flap, and the tail rudder and speedbrake.
Although a critical part of countless flight simulations, the unit was no longer needed after the Space Shuttle avionics were upgraded to
a “glass cockpit” design (see NASA fact sheet pdf for more about the MEDS upgrade).
Hours meter indicates that this artifact has logged 2,031 hours of use in Space Shuttle simulators and in bench testing.
Retired from space program service in April 2009.
Images of the inside of the unit reveal the individual display tape drive mechanisms and circuits, which move the needles along the gauge scales.
