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From the moment the giant solid rocket boosters ignite at liftoff to the moment the landing gear rolls to a stop at the end of a mission, the Mission Control Center (MCC) is the hub of communication and support for each Space Shuttle mission. Since 1965, the MCC has been the nerve center for America's space program. The men and women who work in Building 30 at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, have been vital to the success of every space flight since Gemini 4. Teams of experienced engineers and technicians monitor systems and activities aboard the spacecraft 24 hours a day during missions using some of the most sophisticated equipment available. These teams watch every movement made by the crew and spacecraft, double-check every number to make sure missions are proceeding as expected, and provide expertise needed to deal with the unexpected. Each of the 15-20 flight controllers sitting at an MCC console has the help of many other engineers and flight controllers monitoring and analyzing data in nearby staff support rooms.
The top image is an overall view from the rear of the new MCC opened for operation and dedicated during the STS-70 mission in July 1995. The new MCC, developed at a cost of about $250 million, replaces the mainframe-based, NASA-unique design of the old Mission Control with a standard (off-the-shelf) workstation-based, local area network system commonly in use today.
The bottom image is a wide-angle view of the MCC from the rear. Space Shuttle Discovery was just passing over Mexico at the time this photo was taken (note the Mercator map on the screen). On the right screen, a scene from Discovery shows (left to right) astronauts Nancy J. Currie, Terence T. Henricks, and Kevin R. Kregel giving a spacecraft tour to a television audience.
For more information on the MCC, visit the NASA Shuttle web site at http://shuttle.nasa.gov/ and access the "Ask the MCC" section.
During missions, observe the MCC in action on NASA Television. For information on NASA Television, visit http://www.hq.nasa.gov or call (202) 358-3572.
To find out about NASA On-line Resources for Educators, visit the NASA Education Home Page at http://www.hq.nasa.gov/education