Apollo Mission Control (eBook)

Dutch Von Ehrenfried has worked in both the spaceflight and aviation fields for about 25 years. He was a NASA Flight Controller in Mission Control for many Mercury, Gemini and Apollo Missions. Dutch also worked on some of the Apollo Lunar Experiment Packages from an operations point of view as well as experiments that went into Skylab from an Earth Resources Program perspective. He later worked in the NASA Headquarters Space Station Task Force and the Program Office as a contractor for about 10 years, and the FAA Aviation Safety Office for a year. In recent years, he has written several books in the Springer-Praxis series.

Dedication 10
Preface 15
Acknowledgments 11
Contents 6
1: Introduction 17
2: Mission Control Concepts 21
2.1 FLIGHT OPERATIONS 21
2.2 MILITARY VERSUS CIVILIAN CONTROL 22
3: The Original Mission Control Center 24
3.1 THE MERCURY CONFIGURATION 24
3.2 THE GEMINI MODIFICATIONS 25
3.3 THE TRANSISTION TO HOUSTON 27
4: A Control Center for the Future 29
4.1 A NEW CONCEPT 29
4.1.1 The State of the Art Then 31
4.1.2 New Computing Technologies and Concepts 32
4.1.3 New Operational Concepts 35
4.2 A NEW ORGANIZATION 36
4.3 A NEW APPROACH TO MISSION CONTROL 37
4.4 DESIGN 38
4.4.1 The Ground Based Computing System 38
4.4.2 The Mission Operations Control Rooms (MOCR) 39
4.5 BUILDING PHASES OF THE MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTER 40
5: From Concepts to Reality 42
5.1 THE MISSION CONTROL CENTER-HOUSTON (MCC-H) 42
5.1.1 Background 42
5.1.2 The Original Layout 43
5.1.3 Post-Apollo 44
5.1.4 The Space Shuttle Period 45
5.2 MISSION OPERATIONS CONTROL ROOMS (MOCR) 46
5.2.1 MOCR 1 47
5.2.2 MOCR 2 50
5.3 STAFF SUPPORT ROOMS (SSR) 55
5.3.1 Flight Dynamics SSR 58
5.3.2 Vehicle Systems SSR 60
5.3.3 Life Systems/Aeromed SSR 62
5.3.4 Flight Directors’ SSR 64
5.3.5 Science/ALSEP Support Rooms 65
5.4 OTHER SUPPORT ROOMS 67
5.4.1 Recovery Operations Control Room 67
5.4.2 Spacecraft Analysis (SPAN) Room 73
5.4.3 Mission Evaluation Room (MER) 74
5.4.4 Spaceflight/Meteorological Room (aka the Weather Room) 82
5.4.5 Simulation Control Room 83
5.4.6 Visitor Viewing Room 84
5.5 COMPUTER FACILITIES 85
5.5.1 Real Time Computer Complex (RTCC) 85
5.5.2 Auxiliary Computer Room 90
5.5.3 Communications, Command and Telemetry Support (CCATS) 93
5.6 OTHER SYSTEMS AND EQUIPMENT ROOMS 95
5.6.1 Display Projection Rooms 95
5.6.2 Equipment Areas 97
6: The Missions 100
6.1 GEMINI 101
6.1.1 Unmanned Flights 102
6.1.2 Manned Flights 102
6.2 APOLLO 110
6.2.1 Unmanned Flights 112
6.2.2 Manned Orbital Missions 115
6.2.3 Lunar Missions 116
6.2.4 Apollo-Soyuz Test Project 127
6.3 SKYLAB 127
6.3.1 Unmanned Launch of Skylab 128
6.3.2 Manned Missions 128
6.3.3 Skylab Reentry 131
6.4 SPACE SHUTTLE 132
6.4.1 Enterprise Flights 132
6.4.2 Manned Orbital Flights 135
7: The People 137
7.1 FLIGHT CONTROLLERS 138
7.2 SIMULATION PERSONNEL 142
7.3 COMPUTER SUPPORT 147
7.4 RECOVERY PERSONNEL 148
7.5 SCIENCE SUPPORT 150
7.6 SYSTEMS ANALYSIS SUPPORT 152
7.6.1 Mission Analysis 152
7.6.2 Spacecraft Systems Analysis 155
7.7 MANAGEMENT 156
7.8 FLIGHT SURGEONS 160
7.9 Public Affairs Officers 163
8: Abandoned in Place 168
8.1 TIME TO MOVE ON 168
8.2 CHANGES IN TECHNOLOGY 169
9: Restoration 173
9.1 THE VISION 173
9.2 THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 173
9.3 COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY 174
9.4 NASA’S JOHNSON SPACE CENTER 175
9.5 OTHER SUPPORTING ORGANIZATIONS 176
9.5.1 The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) 176
9.5.2 The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) 177
9.5.3 The Texas Historical Commission (THC) 177
9.5.4 Manned Spaceflight Operations Association (MSOA) 179
9.6 FUNDING THE PROJECT 179
9.6.1 The Webster Challenge 179
9.6.2 Space Center Houston 181
9.6.3 Kickstarter 181
9.6.4 Gift Agreement 182
9.7 PROPOSED WORK 185
9.8 THE RESTORATION CONTRACTORS 191
10: The 50th Anniversary of the First Lunar Landing 192
10.1 THE FINAL GOAL OF THE RESTORATION 192
10.2 THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE 193
10.3 WHAT IT MEANS TO THE NATION AND THE WORLD 193
Appendix 1 Key Correspondence 197
Save Mission Control 197
Appendix 2 Mission Manning Lists 212
Appendix 3 Women Flight Controllers and Mission Support 229
Appendix 4 Chronology of Events 234
Appendix 5 Photos and Graphics 237
Appendix 6 Quotes 255
Appendix 7 The Original MSC Contractors 263
Appendix 8 In Memory of Our Colleagues 267
References 276
Books by Springer/Praxis authors 276
Books by NASA Flight Controllers 277
Books by Others 277
Internet Links 277
NASA Reports 278
Contractor Reports 278
Glossary 280
About the Author 285
Index 288