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[NASA logo]
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Mission Control Center

Mission Control Center Activity

The image on the top is an overall view from the rear of the new Mission Control Center (MCC), opened for operation and dedicated during the STS-70 mission.  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 workstation-based, local area network system commonly in use today.

The image on the bottom is a wide angle view of the MCC from the rear.  The Space Shuttle Discovery was just passing over Mexico at the time this photo was taken (note Mercator map on screen).  On the right screen, a scene from the Discovery shows (left to right) astronauts Nancy J. Sherlock, Terence T. (Tom) Henricks and Kevin R. Kregel giving a spacecraft tour for a TV audience.

Since 1965, the MCC has been the nerve center for America's space program.  The men and women who work in Building 30 at the Johnson Space Center have been vital to the success of every space flight since Gemini 4.  These teams of experienced engineers and technicians monitor systems and activities aboard the spacecraft twenty-four hours a day during missions, using some of the most sophisticated communication, computer, date reduction, and data display equipment available.  They watch every movement the crew and spacecraft make, double-check every number to be sure missions are proceeding as expected, and they provide the expertise needed to deal with the unexpected.

From the moment the giant solid rocket boosters ignite at liftoff, to the moment the landing gear wheels roll to a stop at the end of a mission, the MCC is the hub of communication and support for the Shuttle.

Flight controllers represent only the tip of the iceberg in the MCC.  Each of the fifteen to twenty flight controllers who sits at a console has the help of many other engineers and flight controllers monitoring and analyzing data in nearby staff support rooms.