The VSM: Online Help (Questions and Answers)

What is the VSM ?

VSM means The Virtual Space Museum, this site.
Here is some info about it.

What is VRML ?

VRML = Virtual Reality Modeling Language.
It's a file format for representing 3-D models.
VRML becomes now more and more common in the Internet.

How to view VRML models ?

One of the best VRML viewers, if not the best, is Netscape Navigator with Live3D plugin. It is extremely fast and has very convenient controls.
Warning: if you use any other viewer, spacecraft will probably look like parrots or clowns because each VRML viewer treats colors in its own unpredictable way.

What if I prefer Microsoft Internet Explorer ?

Still it's better to use Live3D. You can install Netscape with plugin and remove the browser (everything except LIVE3D and PLUGINS directories) if you don't like it. MSIE will use Netscape's plugin.

What about MSIE's VRML OCX ?

Never use it! It is very unreliable. It treats polygons as having only one side so that a model is only partialy visible. Its controls are awful: it rotates models in the direction opposite to what you would expect, horizontal movement is many times faster than vertical!

Copyright issues

If something at this site violates your copyright, please don't throw me to a jail. Let me know, I'll remove it.

You can use these VRML models freely in any way you like, but: 1) let me know you use them; 2) if you add them to your Web page, a reference to the VSM must be there.

Currently VSM doesn't (but soon will) contain any photos by me. Some are from NASA hence free, some are public domain, some are from ... hmm... don't know at all.

Have more questions ?

Look at the "About" page. If it doesn't help - mail me (Alexander Chernov, chernov@ccas.ru).