We present the requirements and design of the Virtual SpacePlane (VSP). The VSP application is a development and demonstration virtual prototype for the Manned SpacePlane (MSP) project. The VSP, to be completed in two years, will demonstrate the functionality and capabilities of the MSP throughout it entire flight regime, from takeoff through space operations and landing. The goals of the VSP project are to uncover, develop and validate the MSP's user interface requirements, design and implement an intelligent user interface, and to design and implement a prototype VSP that can be used to demonstrate Manned SpacePlane missions and to conduct preliminary training in support of the MSP. To achieve these objectives, the VSP must also be able to execute the planned MSP missions in a realistic and tactically sound manner within a distributed virtual environment. To quickly develop the functional VSP prototype, the VSP reuses code from the Virtual Cockpit, Solar System Modeler, and Common Object Database (CODB) systems that have been developed in our Labs over the past several years.

In this paper we present background to the VSP project, the known functional requirements for the VSP, its software architecture, and its baseline user interface design. We conclude the paper with a brief summary of the project's current status and discuss future VSP development.