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The people stationed at consoles in the Mission Control Center are called "flight controllers". They work as a team to make sure that the shuttle is performing properly.

Whenever the Space shuttle is within communication range, data streams from the shuttle into the Mission Control Center. The flight controllers look t the data, and monitor the health and functioning of everything from the shuttle computers to the astronauts themselves.

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The flight controllers are led by the "Flight Director", who is in charge of everything in Mission Control. He or she coordinates the efforts of the flight controllers as they work together to make the shuttle flight a success.

Each flight controller has specific responsibilities. For example, one keeps track of the shuttle's orbit, one is responsible for the shuttle's computers, one for the health of the astronauts, one for the Shuttle's electrical system, one for the air and water on the shuttle, one for the experiments (like KidSat), etc.

One member of the flight control team is assigned to talk to the astronauts. That person, who is also an astronaut, is called the CAPCOM (for "capsule communicator"). This is the only person authorized to talk directly to the astronauts aboard the space shuttle.

07/10/96                                Page 3.11

Transcription Notes:
Why all Caps? I fixed the Caps.