It may not be a good sim (for now) but at least it can help you avoid the so-called 100,000ft barrier that the flight simulators have.

It was made by this guy who is good at making this sim (as a hobby). He seems to have a lot of degrees from a certain university.

The good side of this simulator:

1. IT'S FREE!!!!!!!!!!! Just download it.
2. Its simple installation and setup allows you to isolate any problems you encounter.
3. You can launch off into space using a good set of ships (some are fictional).
4. You can travel to other planets and moons (Mars, Jupiter, Mercury, pluto, and so on).
5. There are now available add-ons for you to use at www.avsim.com
6. You learn a lot about how astronauts handle these ships (like the Shuttle Atlantis) and you get clearer understanding of the basics of flying in space.

Downsides to the simulator:

1. The texture quality on the planets may be supreme, but the texture quality looks dull if you view the planets from the surface (however, the guy is making improvements on his next release).
2. No sounds. You heard me, no sounds. You're flying in space, DUH!!!! No sound can travel through space. However, there are sound files you can get from avsim.
3. The ships may be fun fly around with. But when you try launching these things, it's hell to try to get them in a good orbit without being pulled down to the Earth by gravity.
4. The keyboard command layout is far different and hard to remember compared to the flight sims that M$ uses.
5. Your joystick may work, but your throttle lever won't. You will have to rely on the keyboard for most of the time in space.
6. NO rocket smoke. However, there will be on this guy's next release.

I think this guy's name is Martin. You can read about him and more about Orbiter Space Flight Simulator at www.orbitersim.com

It's a fun simulator to use. No more of that dredded 100,000ft barrier you hear about in FS.

Believe it or not, you can also edit the ships that are already there using either GMAX or 3Ds Max. All you have to do is download the needed scripts from avsim. MSFS, however, does not allow you to do that since its aircraft are compiled. Correct me on this if you need to.

Orbiter also utilizes full-screen mode and window mode.

Any questions, go to the orbiter link I specified.

I've had Orbiter for a while now. It's a good sim.

Well, you don't entirely float aimlessly all the time.

Each ship in the sim utilizes a sufisticated navigation system that can allow you to pinpoint the exact location of a moon, planet, even the stations that are endlessly orbiting their home planets. However, because the system complex, you will have to refer to the manuals that come with the simulator. You might have no other choice than to be a bookworm, but at least you'll get the information you need for understanding.

Right now, I am flying the Delta Glider (stock, not an add-on) and I have set a perfectly good orbit with Earth's moon (I launched from Earth, DUH). All I have to do now is tilt my ship's orbit so that it is lined-up and parallel with the moon's orbit (my ship's orbit is also perpendicular to the moon's orbit).

Trust me guys, after some trial and error, you'll get used to this.

I have mentioned that smoke system, that will be used for the rocket exhaust, will be utilized on the next release. Martin does not specify the release date. Remember, this is his hobby, not his job.

The smoke system will use a so-called Partical system that will make the smoke look a hell lot more realistic than MSFS's smoke. In fact, the smoke will still retain its density even if you see it at a distance as your ships accelerates. MSFS's smoke looks like a flat smoke as you see it disappear in the distance.

The next release will also have a better-looking and realistically-looking International Space Station (ISS). The planet textures will also be a little more detailed in resolution.

The guy also has a forum in the website. You can post your suggestions there if you want.