The space station's previous control room, Blue FCR, has already undergone the upgrade. "It will end up looking very much like ," Foster said. The move will make way for FCR-1 to get its own MCC-21 transformation. "If things go as planned, then sometime in June or July of next year, 2014, the ISS support will move out of down the hall to the White FCR, the shuttle control room," Foster explained. First though, it will serve as a temporary flight control room for the International Space Station (ISS). The MCC-21-upgraded White FCR is ultimately intended to serve as the mission control for future flights of NASA's Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle on missions beyond low Earth orbit. "That was very successful - able to command, able to get data in." 27), we ran for the first time with the upgraded training system simulator," Foster said. We're still starting to populate that with the new capabilities." "We have all the displays up," Foster said, " most of the displays.are not functional yet. The widescreen at the front of the room is matched by the expanded use of flat panel displays at each of the wood-panel workstations. "In the White FCR, we had room on either side of the screen for flags to go up. The new MCC-21 screen is still projected from the front, but encompasses more of the wall, leaving less space for the room's prior adornments. Unlike some of the other, older FCRs where rear projection screens are used for the large displays at the front of the room, the White FCR uses a single screen with three front projectors mounted from the ceiling. "We do like to keep a history of what was supported out of the room," Foster said. On the left, the same room after its MCC-21 upgrade, as seen in August 2013. Then and now: On the right, NASA's flight control room at the end of the space shuttle program in July 2011. The insignias are traditionally hung after each flight and line the upper walls in each of the FCRs. "They took all the plaques down and then put them back up," Foster said, referring to the mission emblem plaques that symbolized the missions that were "flown" out of that room. By March, the room had been completely emptied of its blue consoles and the walls had been repainted. Work to transform the White FCR from its shuttle legacy configuration into the new MCC-21 began in January this year. "I believe the accomplishments of the shuttle program will become the next set of 'shoulder of giants' for the future programs to stand on." "The work done in this room and in this building will never again be duplicated," flight director Tony Ceccacci told his ground control team before signing off for the last time. On July 21, 2011, hours after Atlantis landed, completing the 135th and final space shuttle mission, White FCR was shut down. The following year, beginning with shuttle Endeavour's mission STS-77, all the remaining flights were supported from that room. White FCR first went into use for the shuttle in 1995. Red FCR is a training room and Blue FCR was previously used for the space station before the program moved into FCR-1 in 2006. FCR-2 was retired and has been preserved to display its historical Apollo configuration. "After the first four shuttle flights, the decision was made we're no longer running missions, these were more flights, which is why we changed the name to FCR."įCR-1 (pronounced "ficker-one") is an Apollo-legacy room upgraded to support the International Space Station (ISS). "When the building opened up, these were MOCRs - Mission Operations Control Rooms," explained Foster. NASA's Mission Control Center (MCC), housed in Building 30 at the Johnson Space Center, is comprised of several flight control rooms, including FCR-1, FCR-2 and the Red, White and Blue FCRs. "It takes some getting used to," said Foster.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |