Payload Operations and Integration Center

Also know as Huntsville Operations Control Center (HOSC) or Payload Operations Center, it is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) facility that works in conjunction with the Space Station and Space Shuttle Control Centers in Houston, TX. The Payload Operations Center at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., is the headquarters for International Space Station science operations. This Control Center links Earth-bound researchers and developers from around the world with their experiments and astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

Here is a list of every day tasks for this center during the life of the International Space Station:

Integrates research requirements
Plans science missions
Ensures the safe execution of science
Integrats the crew and ground team training and research mission timelines
Manages use of space station payload resources
Handles science communications with the crew
Manages commanding and data transmissions to and from the orbiting research center.

The Operations Center is staffed around the clock by three shifts of flight controllers.

Payload Operations Center

Console Positions

The first row, known as "The Trench", consists of four controllers–BOOSTER, RETRO, FIDO, and GUIDO. The BOOSTER controller monitors the launch vehicle, a job lasting no more than six hours. The RETRO, FIDO, and GUIDO controllers monitor the spacecraft trajectory, handle course changes, and establish launch and landing "windows".

The second row, since Project Gemini, consists of the SURGEON, EECOM, and CAPCOM. The SURGEON is the flight surgeon, a NASA-employed civilian doctor who monitors the health of the astronauts, although, since the first flight of the Space Shuttle, this has been done indirectly, except during EVA. The EECOM monitors the spacecraft's electrical and environmental systems, while the CAPCOM ("Capsule Communicator"), generally an astronaut, serves as the "air-to-ground" communicator between the MCC and the space crew; no other controller can speak to the astronauts, except the SURGEON during emergencies.

On the other side of the "aisle" of the second row are controllers who monitor specific parts of Apollo, Skylab, and the Space Shuttle. During the lunar flights, the TELMU and CONTROL controllers monitored the Apollo lunar module. During Skylab, the EGIL (pronounced "eagle") monitored the Skylab's solar panels, while the EXPERIMENTS controller monitored experiments and the telescopes in the Apollo Telescope Mount. The PAYLOAD and EXPERIMENTS controllers monitor Space Shuttle operations. Another controller, the INCO, monitors the spacecraft's communications and instrumentation.

The third row consists of the PAO (Public Affairs Officer); PROCEDURES, who coordinates with launch teams and writes the countdowns and "go–no go" conditions; FAO (flight activities officer), who coordinates with the flight schedule; AFD (assistant flight director); and FLIGHT (the Flight Director), the "boss" of the entire mission. FLIGHT was first filled by Dr. Christopher Kraft, and later by Eugene Kranz, Dr. Glynn Lunney, Gerald Griffin, and others.

The fourth row has consoles for NASA management, including the Director of the Johnson Space Center, the Director of Flight Crew Operations (chief astronaut—first held by Donald K. "Deke" Slayton), and the Department of Defense officer, who coordinates with active-duty and reserve components in any search-and-rescue or recovery operations if the mission is aborted.

"New" Control Center

In approximately 1992, JSC started building an extension to the Old building 30, housing two new MCC rooms, now known as Flight Control Rooms (FCRs, pronounced "ficker"). The "White" FCR is used for Shuttle Operations and the "Blue" FCR is used for ISS operations. The rooms were arranged a little differently from each other and from the old MOCRs.

White FCR Console Positions

From left to right, as viewed from the rear of the room, the front row (the "trench") consists of FDO (pronounced "fido"), responsible for orbital guidance and orbital changes, depending on the phase of flight, either Ascent/Entry a specialist in the procedures of those two high-energy, fast-paced phases of flight or Guidance, a specialist in orbital rendezvous procedures and GC, the controller responsible for the computers and systems in MCC itself.

The second row has PROP, responsible for the propulsion system, GNC, responsible for systems that determine the spacecraft's attitude and issue commands to control it, MMACS (pronounced "max"), responsible for the mechanical systems on the space craft, including the "arm", and EGIL (pronounced "eagle"), responsible for the fuel cells, electrical distribution and O2 & H2 supplies.

The third row has DPS (pronounced "dips"), responsible for the computer systems, ACO, responsible for all payload-related activities, FAO, responsible for the overall plans of activities for the entire flight, and EECOM responsible for the management of environmental systems.

The fourth row has INCO, responsible for communications systems for uploading all systems commands to the vehicle, FLIGHT—the Flight Director, the person in charge of the flight, CAPCOM, an astronaut who is just about the only one to talk to the astronauts on board, and PDRS, the person responsible for arm operations.

The back row contains PAO (Public Affairs Officer), the "voice" of MCC, MOD, a management representative, depending on the phase of flight, either, RIO - only for MIR flights, a Russian-speaker that spoke with the Russian MCC, known as Цуп, (Tsup), BOOSTER responsible for the SRBs and the SSMEs during ascent, or EVA responsible for space suit systems and EVA tasks, and finally, SURGEON.

Blue FCR Console Positions

The blue FCR is more regularly arranged, in 5 rows of three consoles, plus one in the rear right corner.

From left to right, as viewed from the rear of the room, the front row consists of ADCO, THOR, and PHALCON.

The second row consists of OSO, ECLSS pronounced "eekliss", and ROBO.

The third row consists of ODIN, depending on phase of flight, either ACO (Shuttle docked) or the CIO (Free-flight Operations) and OpsPlan.

The fourth row consists of CATO, FLIGHT—the Flight Director, and CAPCOM.

Finally, the last row consists of GC, depending on the phase of flight, either, RIO, EVA, VVO, or FDO (reboosts only), and finally, SURGEON.

In the back, right corner, behind the surgeon, occasionally the PAO (Public Affairs Officer) is present, but rarely.

FKA Mission Control Center

The Mission Control Center of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Template:Lang-ru, also known by its acronym Цуп ("TsUP")) is located in Korolyov, near the RKK Energia plant. It contains an active control room for the ISS, and a memorial control room for the Mir. In the latter the last few orbits of Mir before it burned up in the atmosphere are shown on screen.

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