Mission Control
Mission Control is the "Earth-based" branch of the OCESS. In scope of the mission, it acts as the home base, and HQ of the OCESS. It is currently located at Ottawa Tech, where it houses the many members of the Mission Control Staff as they help the Astronauts confront the difficulties of space flight and exploration, but plans are underway to move it to the Spacesim Office at Lisgar Collegiate.
Description
The oldest known description of Mission Control reads as follows:
Mission Control is the brains of the mission. From this room in the Ottawa-Carleton Educational Media Centre, the entire operation is co-ordinated and administered.
Members of the simulation take turns at various workstations. The Flight Director assists the Mission Commander. One member is delegated to deal with visitors, to answer the phone and to keep a log of the activities during the mission. The astronauts doing science experiments are supported by yet another member while one person is communicating with the hab on headsets and another is on computer communication. Each station on Mission Control is crucial to the smooth operation of the mission. Every task, no matter how small, is vital.
Computers and various electronic devices are strewn about the room in a seemingly random fashion. However, there is a method to this madness. Each one has a specific task, running the many programs which are needed to keep the mission operating at peak efficiency. An ancient TV monitor displays the countdown, reading its data off a tape recorder. The newest video-conferencing technology permits the Mission Controllers to communicate with their peers at Lisgar Collegiate Institute.
Notable Changes
Since the above description there have been many changes to the fundamental functioning of Mission Control.
- At Ottawa Tech the Mission Control computers are lined neatly on a shelf opposite the television and camera racks.
- Multiple relatively modern televisions are now used as camera monitors.
- No cameras run to Lisgar any longer; all cameras are wired between the hab to Mission Control.
- The Mission Commander has in recent years always participated in the mission as the Pilot, leaving the Flight Director in charge of Mission Control.
- All communication between Mission Control and the astronauts must be approved by the Flight Director and delivered by CAPCOM (the only exception to the latter is if the Flight Director demands to speak directly to the hab). Many breakdowns in communication in Training Missions have been caused by the existance of multiple lanes of communication, and this resulted in the severe enforcement of these rules leading up to Mission Daedalus.
