>> THE MISSION CONTROL CENTER,
ALSO KNOWN AS MCC,
AT THE JOHNSON SPACE CENTER
IS THE CENTRAL LOCATION
FOR REAL-TIME OPERATIONS
OF NASA'S HUMAN
SPACE FLIGHT MISSIONS.
CURRENTLY IT CONTAINS
THE CONTROL CENTERS FOR
THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
ORION, SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM,
AND BOEING CST-100 STARLINER
MISSIONS.
BASED ON THE ASSUMPTION
THAT A PARTNER WILL NEED
ACCESS TO DATA,
TELEMETRY, AND VIDEO
DOWNLINKED FROM THE VEHICLE,
THE MCC CAN OFFER
CONSOLE LOCATIONS
ALONG WITH
THE NECESSARY INFRASTRUCTURE
TO PROVIDE THE TELEMETER DATA
AND VIDEO.
ACCESS TO THE MCC
IS SECURITY-RESTRICTED.
THE FLIGHT CONTROL ROOM,
OFTEN REFERRED TO
AS THE "FICKER",
INCLUDES WORK STATIONS
FOR EACH FLIGHT CONTROL
DISCIPLINE.
THE FLIGHT DIRECTOR
LEADS THE OPERATIONS,
COORDINATING
WITH EACH DISCIPLINE.
A CAPSULE COMMUNICATOR
IS THE INDIVIDUAL WHO SPEAKS
WITH THE ON-ORBIT ASTRONAUTS.
WHEN NECESSARY,
PRIVATE CONFERENCES
CAN BE HELD FROM THE MCC
TO THE CREW MEMBER
OR CREW MEMBERS.
AT THE FRONT OF THE FCR ARE
A COLLECTION OF LARGE SCREENS
WHICH CAN BE CONFIGURED
TO INCLUDE DOWNLINKED
DATA AND VIDEO,
GROUND TRACK OF THE VEHICLE,
AND COVERAGE MAPS
FOR EACH TDRS SATELLITE.
ADDITIONALLY LOCATED
ON THE FRONT SCREENS
ARE MISSION CLOCKS,
COUNTDOWN CLOCKS
FOR COMMUNICATION SIGNAL
ACQUISITION AND LOSS,
AND COUNTDOWNS
TO ON-ORBIT CREW EVENTS.
INTERNAL TO MCC,
VERBAL COMMUNICATION OCCURS
WITH A DEDICATED VOICE SYSTEM,
ALLOWING EACH VOICE PANEL
TO BE CONFIGURED TO ACCESS
THE DIFFERENT CHANNELS USED.
BACK ROOM LOCATIONS ENABLE
ADDITIONAL TEAM MEMBERS
FROM EACH DISCIPLINE
TO SUPPORT REAL-TIME OPERATIONS.
THE WORK STATIONS MIRROR
THE LAYOUT AND CAPABILITIES
OF EACH FRONT ROOM WORK STATION.
THE MCC SUPPORTS
SEVERAL METHODS OF REMOTE ACCESS
TO ITS SYSTEMS.
THESE INCLUDE REMOTE LOGIN
TO MCC SYSTEMS TO PERFORM
FLIGHT CONTROL FUNCTIONS,
SECURE 2-WAY COMMUNICATIONS
TO PARTNER CONTROL CENTERS,
AND 1-WAY DATA FEEDS
THAT INCLUDE TELEMETRY, VOICE,
AND VIDEO FEEDS
WITH MISSION DATA.
ADDITIONALLY,
OPTIONS FOR MODIFICATION
OF EXISTING MCC CAPABILITIES,
HOSTING OF PARTNER
SOFTWARE APPLICATIONS
WITHIN THE MCC,
AND DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATIONS
TO PARTNER SPECIFICATIONS
BY MCC PERSONNEL ARE AVAILABLE.