Console positions Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center

1 console positions

1.1 mercury control center (1960-1963)
1.2 mocr (1965-1998)
1.3 blue fcr (1998–2006)
1.4 white fcr (1998–2011)
1.5 fcr 1 (2006-present)

console positions
mercury control center (1960-1963)

during years @ cape canaveral, original mcc consisted of 3 rows, mercury capsule simple in design , construction, missions lasting no more 35 hours.

walt williams (standing) , chris kraft in mercury control during ma-9 in 1963

the first row consisted of several controllers, booster systems engineer (booster), flight surgeon (surgeon), capsule communicator (capcom), retrofire officer (retro), flight dynamics officer (fido), , guidance office (guido).

the booster controller, depending upon type of rocket being used, either engineer marshall space flight center (for mercury-redstone flights) or air force engineer (for mercury-atlas , later gemini-titan flights) assigned mission. booster controller s job last no more 6 hours total , vacate console after booster jettisoned.

the surgeon controller, consisting of flight surgeon (either military or civilian doctor), monitored astronaut s vital signs during flight, , if medical need arose, recommend treatment. talk directly astronaut crew if there medical need astronauts needed discuss.

the capcom controller, filled astronaut, maintained nominal air-to-ground communications between mcc , orbiting spacecraft; exception being surgeon or flight director, , in emergency.

the retro, fido, , guido controllers monitored spacecraft trajectory , handled course changes.

the second row consisted of several controllers, environmental, procedures, flight, systems, , network. environmental controller, later called eecom, oversaw consumption of spacecraft oxygen , monitored pressurization, while systems controller, later called egil, monitored other spacecraft systems, including electrical consumption. procedures controller, first held gene kranz, handled writing of mission milestones, go/no go decisions, , synchronized mcc launch countdowns , eastern test range. procedures controller handled communications, via teletype, between mcc , worldwide network of tracking stations , ships.

the flight director, known flight, ultimate supervisor of mission control center, , gave final orbit entrance/exit, and, in emergencies, mission abort decisions. during mercury missions, position held christopher kraft, john hodge, englishman came nasa after cancellation of canadian avro arrow project, joining flight director ranks 22-orbit mercury 9, requiring kraft divide mission control 2 shifts. flight director s console position in cape mcc have television monitor, allowing him see rocket lift off pad. network controller, air force officer, served switchboard between mcc, goddard space flight center in greenbelt, maryland (as on-site real-time computing did not exist), , worldwide tracking station , ship network.

the row, consisting of nasa , department of defense (dod) management, location of operations director (held walt williams), general or flag officer coordinate dod on search-and-rescue missions, , pao ( shorty powers during mercury), provided minute-by-minute mission commentary news media , public.

in addition controllers in cape mcc, each of manned tracking stations , rose knot victor , coastal sentry quebec tracking ships, had 3 controllers, capcom, surgeon, , engineer. unlike cape capcom, staffed astronaut, tracking station/tracking ship capcoms either nasa engineer, or astronaut, latter located @ stations deemed critical flight director , operations director.

mocr (1965-1998)

mocr 2 during gemini 5 in 1965

after move cape mcc houston mcc in 1965, new mocrs, larger , more sophisticated single cape mcc, consisted of 4 rows, first row, later known trench (a term coined apollo-era retro controller john llewellyn, which, according flight director eugene kranz, reminded him of firing range during years usaf officer). occupied booster, retro, fido, , guido controllers. during gemini, booster position handled both engineer martin marietta , astronaut, while missions apollo 7 used engineers marshall space flight center. second row, after project gemini, consisted of surgeon, eecom, , capcom. eecom, replaced environmental controller , of systems controller s functions, monitored spacecraft s electrical , environmental systems. capcoms during mercury, capcoms in houston mcc astronauts.

mocr 2 during apollo 13 crisis

on other side of aisle of second row controllers monitored specific parts of gemini, apollo, skylab, astp , space shuttle missions. during gemini program, 2 agena controllers monitored agena upper stage used docking target gemini 8 through gemini 12. apollo lunar flights, telmu , control controllers monitored lunar module. during skylab, egil (pronounced eagle ) monitored skylab s solar panels, while experiments controller monitored experiments , telescopes in apollo telescope mount. payload , experiments controllers monitored space shuttle operations. controller, inco, monitored spacecraft s communications , instrumentation.

the third row consisted of pao, procedures, , fao (flight activities officer), coordinated flight schedule. afd (assistant flight director) , flight director located on third row.

the fourth row, old cape mcc s third row, reserved nasa management, including director of johnson space center, director of flight operations, director of flight crew operations (chief astronaut), , department of defense officer.

in july 2010, air ground voice recordings , film footage shot in mission control during apollo 11 powered descent , landing re-synchronized , released first time.

blue fcr (1998–2006)

the blue fcr, used iss operations 1998 2006, arranged in 5 rows of 3 consoles, plus 1 in rear right corner. left right, viewed rear of room, front row consisted of adco, thor, , phalcon.

the second row consisted of oso, eclss pronounced eekliss , , robo.

the third row consisted of odin, depending on phase of flight, either aco (shuttle docked) or cio (free-flight operations) , opsplan.

the fourth row consisted of cato, flight—the flight director, , capcom.

the fifth last row consisted of gc, depending on phase of flight; either rio, eva, vvo, or fdo (reboosts only), , surgeon.

in back, right corner, behind surgeon, pao (public affairs officer) present.

white fcr (1998–2011)

the white fcr during sts-115 in 2006

the white fcr, used space shuttle operations, arranged in 5 rows. left right, viewed rear of room):

the front row (the trench ) had fdo (pronounced fido ), responsible orbital guidance , orbital changes, depending on phase of flight; either guidance, specialist in procedures of 2 high-energy, fast-paced phases of flight or rendezvous, specialist in orbital rendezvous procedures; , gc, controller responsible computers , systems in mcc itself.

the second row had prop, responsible propulsion system; gnc, responsible systems determine spacecraft s attitude , issue commands control it; mmacs (pronounced max ), responsible mechanical systems on space craft, such payload bay doors , landing gear; , egil (pronounced eagle ), responsible fuel cells, electrical distribution , o2 & h2 supplies.

the third row had dps, responsible computer systems; aco or payloads, responsible payload-related activities (depending on whether shuttle flight supported iss assembly flight or not; fao, responsible overall plans of activities entire flight; , eecom responsible management of environmental systems.

the fourth row had inco, responsible communications systems uploading systems commands vehicle; flight—the flight director, person in charge of flight; capcom, astronaut controller talk astronauts on board; , pdrs, responsible robot arm operations.

the row had pao (public affairs officer), voice of mcc; mod, management representative, depending on phase of flight; either rio mir flights, russian-speaker spoke russian mcc, known Цуп, (tsup); booster responsible srbs , ssmes during ascent, or eva responsible space suit systems , eva tasks; , finally, surgeon.

fcr 1 (2006-present)

fcr 1 in 2009 during sts-128 mission.

all international space station operations controlled fcr 1, remodeled in 2006. fcr abandoned traditional tiered floor layout, rows instead @ same level. few engineering specialists in center of front row, public affairs commentator @ right end behind low partition. space station trajectory position moved third row.

during iss operations, scheme known gemini used, reduced staffing real-time iss support consolidating 6 system disciplines 2 positions. these 2 super-consoles , named atlas , titan, 2 people can work of 8 other flight controllers during low-activity periods. 1 position, call sign titan (telemetry, information transfer, , attitude navigation), responsible communication & tracking (cato), command & data handling (odin), , motion control systems (adco). other position, call sign atlas (atmosphere, thermal, lighting , articulation specialist), responsible thermal control (thor), environmental control & life support (eclss), , electrical power systems (phalcon). atlas responsible monitoring robotics (robo) , mechanical systems (oso) heaters, consoles not supported during majority of gemini shifts. while gemini officially reflected fact 2 controllers act twins during operations, name homage first missions (project gemini) controlled room. in addition, titan type of booster rocket launched gemini spacecraft , atlas boosters launched gemini-era agena target vehicles (and several missions in project mercury).

in 2010 after iss assembly complete, gemini concept removed , 6 core disciplines reduced four. console positions ethos (environmental , thermal operating systems) consists of eclss system internal thermal control system formerly held thor; spartan (station power, articulation, thermal, , analysis) consists of electrical power , external thermal control systems; cronus (communications rf onboard networks utilization specialist), combination of previous odin , cato positions; , adco (motion control systems).