What is "space simulator"

n. Any device that attempts to simulate the environment of space, especially one used to test components of space vehicles

A space simulator is a system that tries to replicate or simulate outer space as closely and realistically as possible. The experience of space flight in a spacecraft is usually part of this. This includes full-size cockpit replicas mounted on hydraulic rams and controlled by state of the art computer technology; elaborate watertanks for simulation of weightlessness; and devices used by scientists to study the physics and environment of outer space.

Space flight simulators are used almost solely by the aerospace industry and the military for cosmonaut/ astronaut training, disaster simulation and spacecraft design. Examples of devices that simulate the environment of outer space include the Large Space Simulator at the European Space Research and Technology Centre and The Space Simulator at the Los Alamos National Laboratory.

The world's first Space Simulator that is available for the public and is for entertainment is at SimCenter Tampa Bay in Clearwater, Florida and it allows people to travel in space in virtual reality.