9/25/2023 0 Comments Nasa houston mission controlNASA believes that an astronaut is most able to understand the situation in the spacecraft and pass information in the clearest way.Įven though, beginning with the Shuttle Program, spacecraft were no longer “capsules”, the name CAPCOM was retained for both continuity and a continued nod to the history of the program. That role was designated the Capsule Communicator or CAPCOM and was filled by another astronaut, often one of the backup- or support-crew members. manned space program, NASA felt it important for all communication with the astronauts in space to pass through a single individual in the Mission Control Center. Generally, only the CAPCOM communicates directly with the crew of a manned space flight. Spacecraft (or “Capsule”) Communicator (CAPCOM) This person monitors the other Flight Controllers, remaining in constant verbal communication with them via intercom channels called “loops”. Flight has overall operational responsibility for missions and payload operations and for all decisions regarding safe, expedient mission operations. Shuttle Flight Control Positions Flight Director (FLIGHT) Each of the 15 to 20 flight controllers who sits at a console in the FCR has the help of many other engineers and flight controllers monitoring and analyzing data in nearby staff support rooms. Almost everyone has seen the television pictures of MCC flight controllers working feverishly at their consoles, headsets in place.įlight controllers who work in the FCR represent only the tip of the staffing iceberg in the MCC. The MCC’s focal point is the Flight Control Room, or FCR (pronounced “Ficker”), where flight controllers get information from console computer displays or from projected displays that fill the wall at the front of the room. Because there is more data to monitor than the crew has time to manage, the flight control team’s main responsibility is evaluating the data to provide the crew with additional insight and aid it in managing the complex systems of the Orbiter.įrom the moment the Solid Rocket Boosters ignite at liftoff to the moment the landing gear wheels roll to a stop at the end of a mission, the MCC is the hub of communication and support for the Shuttle. The frequent missions of the Space Shuttle program required a new approach to flight control. During Apollo, when distance and communications breaks made it necessary, some onboard systems became prime while others retained their reliance on MCC direction. As spacecraft became more complex in the Gemini years, dependence on the new MCC in Houston lessened slightly. The capsule’s manual control systems served in most cases as backups to the automated systems, and astronauts relied heavily on ground control for solutions to problems that arose. They watch every movement the crew and spacecraft make, double-check every number to be sure missions are proceeding as expected, and provide the expertise needed to deal with the unexpected.ĭuring the Mercury project, when mission control was at Cape Canaveral, capsules were controlled almost entirely from the ground. These teams of experienced engineers and technicians monitor systems and activities aboard spacecraft 24 hours a day during missions, using some of the most sophisticated communication, computer, data reduction, and data display equipment available. The men and women who work in Building 30 at the Johnson Space Center have been vital to the success of every manned space flight since Gemini 4. Since 1965, the Mission Control Center (MCC) has been the nerve center for America’s manned space program. Those words, the first ever transmitted to Earth by a human being from the surface of the Moon, are testimony to the essential role played by the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.
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