A tense moment for mission control during the Apollo 13 mission.
Engineers have spent the last two years and about $2 million designing and constructing a near duplicate of the ISS control room that even uses a bit of space from the adjacent
Apollo-era flight control room used through 1994 for the space shuttle. Flight controllers will sit at the 17 consoles in the 45-by-60-foot (13-by-18-meter) room to conduct generic and specific simulations with the shuttle and other simulators at JSC.
| The control rooms at Johnson Space Center |
Flight directors have dubbed the various control rooms at JSC by colors:Red ISS training roomWhite Shuttle control room
Blue ISS control room |
The Apollo flight-control room was used until 1994 when the white roomreplaced it. The U.S. Government and the State of Texas consider the Apollo flight-control room a national landmark. |
"We need to train as we fly and fly as we train," said flight director Kelly Beck. "Weve got a place to train together now."
The training room mimics
Mission Control with the projection screens showing the stations position along with the clocks displaying the time around the world. The blue-colored consoles havent been added as a cost-saving measure."Right now were just making sure the controllers can log in, the documentation is correct and even the telephones are working," said Beck. "Were running a training sim, but no malfunction scenarios yet. I want them to concentrate on the facilities for now."
Beck said the former storage room will be used to bring new controllers up to speed and give the old hands practice on
upcoming missions.Additionally, the training room can conduct exercises with the stations overseas partners through their own training centers. The new room can also tie into the operational control rooms. It probably wont be used as a backup since it lacks redundant computer systems used in the control rooms.
Training the flight controllers
The process to become a flight controller can be a long one and veteran controller Henry Allen sums it up in one word "perseverance."
Allen has been in the flight control or tracking business, either with the Army or as a NASA contractor for almost 45 years. He even worked the 1960 Echo 1
satellite mission. Echo 1 was a 100-foot (30-meter) diameter relay balloon that reflected communication signals off its metallic surface."The biggest difference today is the technology," said Allen as he sat at the ground-control console. "You need discipline, but training still gives you the knowledge."
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It takes anywhere from six months to five years for a controller to go through the certification process to work in Mission Control, said Beck. The average is about two years, but it depends on the complexity of the position.
Flight controllers are involved in every aspect of the mission. On the ISS, controllers will monitor everything from the electrical systems to the stations attitude to the life-support systems, in addition to working with the crew
aboard the station."Weve got a variety of people and a good mix of relatively new people and ones from the shuttle program," she said. "As a group though, the station controllers are younger and less experienced than shuttle controllers."
Before a flight controller works at a console in the main room, they play a key role in whats known as the "backroom." In the backroom, newer controllers work out problems and develop plans to support the ones working the consoles.
Melissa Stierwald checked out one of the consoles on Wednesday and said shell have her certification within a few weeks and then get a posting in the
ISS control centers backroom.
As Flight Director in NASA's Mission Control during the Apollo 13 mission, Gene Kranz was in charge when an explosion crippled the Apollo 13 spacecraft with three astronauts aboard, Kranz led the rescue effort.
Shes been in training about 18 months and studied math and English in college.
"My father worked on the Saturn 5 for Boeing and he told me all the stories about it," she said. "So, I thought this would be an interesting field."
Mission Control: Open 24 hours, seven Days a week
Throughout the history of U.S. efforts in space, flight controllers have staffed the mission control for every minute of a spaceflight. Most flights lasted less than two weeks, but with a crew set to occupy the ISS in the fall, controllers will be working a mission that doesnt end when the shuttle lands.
"Its going to be a challenge," Beck said. "The team isnt used to 24 hours a day, seven days per week."
One flight controller, dubbed the station duty officer, currently watches over the orbiting outpost along with Moscow Mission Control after hours. Once the crew is aboard the ISS, Mission Control will have more staff on console during the early phases of station construction and operation.
Controllers used to get a break after
splashdown, or when the shuttle commander announced "wheels stop" as the orbiter sat on the runway, but with the ISS, the mission will be ongoing. Mission managers are adjusting schedules and using the training to help controllers adjust to the long-term aspects of operating the ISS."Most of the shuttle missions lasted 10 to 16 days," Beck said. "Youd get a breather for a few days and think about the upcoming mission -- now thats changed."
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