"Sunset" Simulator

Last month, Felka and I tested an orbital simulator for the new moon-rated Soyuz 12LOK (Лунный Орбитальный Корабль).

Way back in the moon race days of the 20th century, Russia developed a similar craft called 7K-LOK. They launched three uncrewed flights in the 1970s.

In this simulation, Felka wore a cosmonaut's Orlan spacesuit, and I wore
the usual Rocket Team space gear.  The systems had to work with both.

This on-orbit simulator was called закат (pronounced "zakat", meaning "sunset"). 

Since it would take four days for Rocket Team cosmonauts and astronauts to get to the moon, we spent four days circling the Earth and testing the same systems they would use in an Earth-to-moon transfer.

In the old moon race days, space explorers had ground-based simulators for orbital and lunar missions. Now, our simulators ARE in orbit. It adds to the authenticity for sure.

Plus, it's way more fun.