Mission Control Operations

Behind-the-scenes at a mission control center, showing teams managing simulations and launch procedures with multiple screens and focused expressions.

STS-131 Flight Controllers on console during the launch of Discovery on STS-131. Photo Date: April 5, 2010. Location: Building 30 south - WFCR.
STS-131 Flight Controllers on console during the launch of Discovery on STS-131. Photo Date: April 5, 2010. Location: Building 30 south - WFCR.
222 assets in this story
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Department of the Army Civilian CHristopher Salazar sits at the Sonic Solutions, DVD Creator Authoring Workstation. The system is used for encoding and authoring DVD-R. This piece of equipment is being used in the Fort Sam Houston Audio/Visual Production Facility at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas. Base: Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio State: Texas (TX) Country: United States Of America (USA)
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach, standing, and his launch team monitor the countdown to liftoff of space shuttle Endeavour in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour lifted off on its STS-134 mission to the International Space Station on time at 8:56 a.m. EDT on May 16.The shuttle and its six-member crew are embarking on a mission to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS), Express Logistics Carrier-3, a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper to the space station. Endeavour's first launch attempt on April 29 was scrubbed because of an issue associated with a faulty power distribution box called the aft load control assembly-2 (ALCA-2).
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Master console operator David Walsh monitors operations from his position in Firing Room 1 at the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Control Center during a countdown simulation for Exploration Mission 1. It was the agency's first simulation of a portion of the countdown for the first launch of a Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft that will eventually take astronauts beyond low-Earth orbit to destinations such as the Moon and Mars.
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Kathy Lueders, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program is seen monitoring the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Demo-2 mission with NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken onboard, Saturday, May 30, 2020, in firing room four of the Launch Control Center at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Demo-2 mission is the first launch with astronauts of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. The test flight serves as an end-to-end demonstration of SpaceXs crew transportation system. Behnken and Hurley launched at 3:22 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 30, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocket from American soil to low-Earth orbit for the first time since the conclusion of the Space Shuttle Program
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Pat Forrester, NASAs chief of the astronaut office monitor the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft on NASAs SpaceX Crew-1 mission with NASA astronauts Mike Hopkins, Victor Glover, Shannon Walker, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi onboard, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2020, in firing room four of the Launch Control Center at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-1 mission is the first crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Hopkins, Glover, Walker, and Noguchi launched at 7:27 p.m. EST, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Assistant Launch Director Mike Leinbach (right) speaks with NASA Commentator Mike Curie in Firing Room 4 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida prior to the launch of space shuttle Discovery's STS-131 mission. The seven-member STS-131 crew will deliver the multi-purpose logistics module Leonardo, filled with supplies, a new crew sleeping quarters and science racks that will be transferred to the International Space Station's laboratories. The crew also will switch out a gyroscope on the stations truss, install a spare ammonia storage tank and retrieve a Japanese experiment from the stations exterior. STS-131 is the 33rd shuttle mission to the station and the 131st shuttle mission overall.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- In Firing Room 4 in the Launch Control Center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, launch team members took their posts at about 12:30 p.m. EDT, July 5 to prepare for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. The countdown clock began ticking backward from the T-43 hour mark at 1 p.m. Atlantis and its crew of four are scheduled to lift off at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the station. The STS-135 mission also will fly a system to investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites and return a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final mission of NASA's Space Shuttle Program.
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Artemis I Launch Simulation. Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson stands at her console in Firing Room 1 as Artemis teams conduct a launch simulation for the Artemis I mission inside the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 27, 2022. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orions heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. During the flight, Orion will launch atop the most powerful rocket in the world and fly farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever flown, paving the way for human deep space exploration and demonstrating our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond.
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STS-133 flight controllers on console during the launch of Discovery with Flight Director Richard Jones. Photo Date: February 24, 2011. Location: Building 30 south - WFCR.
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PHOTO DATE: 12 July 2011LOCATION: Bldg. 30 - WFCRSUBJECT: STS-135 Orbit 3 Flight Controllers in WFCR.
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Weather Radios a Must in Every Home. Mississippi Severe Storms, Tornadoes, and Flooding. Photographs Relating to Disasters and Emergency Management Programs, Activities, and Officials
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Public Information Officer George Diller plays his role as commentator during in an End-to-End (ETE) Mission Management Team (MMT) launch simulation at KSC. In Firing Room 1 at KSC, Shuttle launch team members put the Shuttle system through an integrated simulation. The control room is set up with software used to simulate flight and ground systems in the launch configuration. The ETE MMT simulation included L-2 and L-1 day Prelaunch MMT meetings, an external tanking_weather briefing, and a launch countdown. The ETE transitioned to the Johnson Space Center for the flight portion of the simulation, with the STS-114 crew in a simulator at JSC. Such simulations are common before a launch to keep the Shuttle launch team sharp and ready for liftoff.
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NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 Final Launch Operations Rehearsal . Nicole Jordan, manager of the Spacecraft Office for NASA's Commercial Crew Program monitors the countdown during a dress rehearsal in preparation for the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Dragon spacecraft on NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission with NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Warren "Woody" Hoburg, UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev onboard, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, in firing room four of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Crew-6 mission is the sixth crew rotation mission of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi, and Fedyaev are scheduled to launch at 1:45 a.m. EST on Feb. 27, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center.
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Norm Knight, deputy director of Flight Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center, left, talks with Joel Montalbano, NASAs International Space Station deputy program manager, following the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft on the Demo-2 mission with NASA astronauts Douglas Hurley and Robert Behnken onboard, Saturday, May 30, 2020, in firing room four of the Launch Control Center at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASAs SpaceX Demo-2 mission is the first launch with astronauts of the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft and Falcon 9 rocket to the International Space Station as part of the agencys Commercial Crew Program. The test flight serves as an end-to-end demonstration of SpaceXs crew transportation system. Behnken and Hurley launched at 3:22 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 30, from Launch Complex 39A at the Kennedy Space Center. A new era of human spaceflight is set to begin as American astronauts once again launch on an American rocke
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A member of the Artemis I launch team monitors his console inside Firing Room 1 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida during launch countdown Sept. 3, 2022. Launch of the agencys Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft from Kennedys Launch Complex 39B was waved off due to an issue during tanking. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orions heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media from around the globe gather at the Press Site bull pen at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to cover the prelaunch activities and lift off of space shuttle Atlantis on its STS-135 mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis and its crew of four; Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, are scheduled to lift off at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8 to deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module packed with supplies and spare parts to the station. Atlantis also will fly the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment that will investigate the potential for robotically refueling existing satellites in orbit. In addition, Atlantis will return with a failed ammonia pump module to help NASA better understand the failure mechanism and improve pump designs for future systems. STS-135 will be the 33rd flight of Atlantis, the 37th shuttle mission to the space station, and the 135th and final missio
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Stephanie Stilson, NASA vehicle manager for Discovery, is being filmed for a special feature on the KSC Web about the recent Orbiter Major Modification period, which included inspection, modifications and reservicing of most systems onboard Discovery, plus installation of a Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem (MEDS) - a state-of-the-art glass cockpit.” The orbiter is now being prepared for eventual launch on a future mission.
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Joel Montalbano, manger, International Space Station, Johnson Space Center, listens in during NASAs SpaceX Crew-2 Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center on April 15, 2021. The mission is targeted to launch from the Florida Spaceports Launch Complex 39A on April 22 at 6:11 a.m. EDT. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and  Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will fly to the station aboard SpaceXs Crew Dragon Endeavour, powered by the companys Falcon 9 rocket.
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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. - Dr. Grant Gilmore, Dynamac Corp., utilizes a laptop computer to explain aspects of the underwater acoustic research under way in the Launch Complex 39 turn basin. Several government agencies, including NASA, NOAA, the Navy, the Coast Guard, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission are involved in the testing. The research involves demonstrations of passive and active sensor technologies, with applications in fields ranging from marine biological research to homeland security. The work is also serving as a pilot project to assess the cooperation between the agencies involved. Equipment under development includes a passive acoustic monitor developed by NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and mobile robotic sensors from the Navys Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit.
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Test of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) technical capability Level 2 (TCL2) at Reno-Stead Airport, Nevada. During the test, five drones simultaneously crossed paths, separated by altitude. Two drones flew beyond visual line-of-sight and three flew within line-of-sight of their operators.
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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In NASA Kennedy Space Center's Firing Room 4, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden waits for the launch of space shuttle Discovery on the STS-128 mission. Liftoff from Launch Pad 39A was on time at 11:59 p.m. EDT. The first launch attempt on Aug. 24 was postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The second attempt on Aug. 25 also was postponed due to an issue with a valve in space shuttle Discovery's main propulsion system. The STS-128 mission is the 30th International Space Station assembly flight and the 128th space shuttle flight. The 13-day mission will deliver more than 7 tons of supplies, science racks and equipment, as well as additional environmental hardware to sustain six crew members on the International Space Station. The equipment includes a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and the COLBERT treadmill.
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Visitors pose with the countdown clock before the launch of the Northrop Grumman Antares rocket, with Cygnus resupply spacecraft onboard, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2020 at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Northrop Grumman's 13th contracted cargo resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station will deliver more than 7,500 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory and its crew.