Mission control is a rocket’s contact back on Earth. All missions into space require constant technical support from scientists and engineers on the ground. The staff at Mission Control has many important jobs, such as ensuring the craft is on the right course, maintaining vital communication links, and making sure there is enough oxygen and fuel to complete the mission safely.
A mission control center is a facility that manages space flights, usually from the point of launch until landing or the end of the mission. It is part of the ground segment of spacecraft operations. A staff of flight controllers and other support personnel monitor all aspects of the mission using telemetry, and send commands to the vehicle using ground stations. Personnel supporting the mission from an MCC can include representatives of the attitude control system, power, propulsion, thermal, attitude dynamics, orbital operations and other subsystem disciplines. The training for these missions usually falls under the responsibility of the flight controllers, typically including extensive rehearsals in the MCC.
Prior to liftoff, missions are controlled from the Launch Control Center (LCC) located at NAS’s Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island Florida. Responsibility for the booster and spacecraft remains with the LCC until the booster has cleared the launch tower, when responsibility is handed over to the NASA’s Mission Control Center (MCC-H), at the Lyndon B Johnson Space Center, in Houston. The MCC also manages the U.S. portions of the International Space Station (ISS).
The Mission Control Center of the Russian Federal Space Agency, also known by its acronym (“TsUP”) is located in Korolyov, near the RKK Energia plant. It contains an active control room for the ISS. It also houses a memorial control room for the Mir where the last few orbits of Mir before it burned up in the atmosphere are shown on the display screens.
Picture Credit : Google
