Marshall Space Flight Center previous Spacelab missions were operated. The advent of the Space Shuttle made possible several major space programs in which MSFC had significant responsibilities. These were the International Space Station, the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, and the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory. The latter three are part of NASA's series of Great Observatories; this series also includes the Spitzer Space Telescope, but this was not launched by a Space Shuttle and MSFC had no significant role in its development. A manned space station had long been in the plans of visionaries. Wernhar von Braun, in his widely read "Collier's Magazine"
Rendezvous: A Space Shuttle Simulation Rendezvous: A Space Shuttle Simulation Rendezvous: A Space Shuttle Simulation, is a space simulator published 1982 by Edu-Ware, and developed by Titan Computer Products and NASA scientist Wesley Huntress. Accompanied by a thick "Spacecraft Operations" manual with a chapter on use in the classroom, this flight simulator was marketed as being as educational as it was fun to play. The simulation is centered on a typical Space Shuttle mission to service a space station. Mission phases include "Earth Lift-Off", "Orbital Rendezvous", "Approach" and "Alignment and Docking". It was released for the Apple II in 1982 with positive feedback from reviewers.