{"nrhp_refnum":"85002809","name":"Rendezvous Docking Simulator","other_names":["Real-Time Dynamic Simulator"],"category":"object","location":{"address":"Langley Research Center","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hampton (Independent City)","county":"Hampton","state":"VA","lat":37.08580682000007,"lon":-76.37769479899998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-10-03","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1985-10-03","areas_of_significance":["Other","Engineering","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A full-scale dynamic docking simulator housed in Building 1244 in the East Area of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, built in 1963.","why_significant":"The simulator let NASA train Gemini and Apollo astronauts in spacecraft docking procedures in a safe three-dimensional setting that closely approximated space. These skills were required before a lunar landing could be attempted under the lunar orbit rendezvous plan. The training here and at the Lunar Landing Research Facility was considered indispensable to landing men on the moon by 1969.","narrative":"Built in 1963 atop Building 1244 at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, this full-scale simulator was used to practice docking spacecraft. It consists of an overhead carriage and a cable-suspended gimbal system. The electrically driven carriage moves in three translational directions, while the hydraulically driven gimbal rotates in three, giving pilots six degrees of freedom through a ground-based analog computer. Its operating volume was 210 feet by 15 feet by 40 feet, and full-scale Gemini or Apollo modules could be hung from it. Pilots practiced Gemini docking with the Agena target and Apollo Lunar Excursion Module docking with the Command Module. The facility matters because the lunar orbit rendezvous plan required flawless docking, and failure could have cost the mission and the astronauts' lives. After Apollo it was modified for aircraft landing and ride quality studies and renamed the Real-Time Dynamic Simulator. It is no longer in use.","period_of_significance":"1963-1972","architect_builder":"NASA","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in excellent condition but altered; the facility is no longer in use. It was modified after Apollo and renamed the Real-Time Dynamic Simulator.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:51:56.809993-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/49/6790/41679049/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_VA/85002809_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002809/5a5d4ac325-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002809/5a5d4ac325-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"NASA Langley Research Center","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rendezvous_Docking_Simulator_practice.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">NASA Langley Research Center</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rendezvous_Docking_Simulator_practice.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"12000374","name":"NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/virginia/nasa-langley-research-center-larc-historic-district-12000374/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/41679049","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rendezvous_Docking_Simulator","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7312821"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/virginia/hampton/rendezvous-docking-simulator-85002809/"}