Page 55 - Life beyond the Karman

the vehicle. The team of flight controllers is under the direction and supervision of a person called a Flight Director. This is a senior manager who is ultimately responsible for the vehicle. All commanding to the vehicle must be approved by the Flight Director. A flight controller who needs to execute a procedure will activate the microphone on their headset, select the Flight Director loop on the communication system and communicate via a specific command and telemetry system that links all relevant people until it reaches astronauts/crew on board as clearly as possible.
The front of the MCC
The large screens at the front of the MCC show information of interest to everyone in the control room. This includes live camera feeds from the vehicle, a ground-track map showing the location of the vehicle, a display showing any cautions, warnings, or emergencies, and clocks indicating all activities and the status of the communication link to the vehicle.
Payload Operations and Integration Centre
The Payload Operations and Integration Centre is a hub that coordinates much of the work related to the delivery of research facilities and experiments to the space station as they are rotated in and out when space shuttles or other vehicles make deliveries and return completed experiments and samples to Earth.
The payload operations director leads the Payload Operations and Integration Center’s main flight control team, known as the “cadre” and approves all science plans in coordination with Mission Control centres, the international partner control centres and the station crew.
LIFE BEYOND THE KÁRMÁN LINE - OUTER SPACE
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