Mission Control Language

[ascan1984]

Hi<br /><br />I am just listening to the STS 107 reentry flight directors loop and i came across some things that i cant find what they mean. They are<br /><br />ops 304(as in it was preformed) and DDS (which is something to do with weather but that is only a guess.)

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Flight Director Leroy Cain: FDO, Flight.<br /><br />Flight Dynamics Officer Richard Jones: Go ahead, Flight.<br /><br />CAIN: Did we get another balloon launched?<br /><br />JONES: Yes sir. It's going to be a 10-minute delay basically in receipt of the data here. That's our estimate.<br /><br />CAIN: What's our new estimate time to get the data, time to have the DDS in our hand?<br /><br />JONES: It. We'll call it 10 'til flight. Another 15 minutes. All of this data will be in, assuming it goes to the correct altitude, 10K. We'll have this about before 10, Flight.<br /><br />CAIN: OK.

 

[steve82]

This transcript refers to it parenthetically as the "Data Display System":<br />http://www.cbsnews.com/network/news/space/107_Entry_TimelineI.html<br /><br />Other articles from the time refer to it as the "Data Distribution System". It seems to have something to do with the way the balloon data are communicated across.

 

[steve82]

I did some more looking around (can't find a link tho) and I think now they are referring to the Descent Design System. It's a sophisticated offline sim that the FDO and others use to integrate all of the available environment data, winds, maybe even STA, etc. to come up with the best estimated descent trajectory, touchdown points and whatever.

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Have no idea myself, Steve - but Cain actually says it a little different on the flight loop from the DVS recording.<br /><br /> />time to have the DDS in our hand? <<br /><br />He says (to me) "Time to have the DDS in MY hand" as if it was a report/sheet of paper. He said it in a slight impatient voice as if it was delayed. <br /><br />There's a few things missing on the transcripts - most disturbingly is the ommision of the "Feeling the heat" call from Columbia. The last few calls from Columbia magically moved places and were edited from the DVS recording I've got.

 

[ascan1984]

"feeling the heat" ?

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Yes - I'll post the full DVS sound file and give you a time stamp of when to listen to the loop.

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Have the section ready to play:<br /><br />http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=97&posts=2

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Just had a NASA guy confirm DDS = Data Display System on this loop.

 

[najab]

><i>"feeling the heat" ?</i><p>This was a partial call down from Columbia during re-entry that has caused some controversy. Some people say that it sounds like Rick Husbands said "feeling that heat" or "feeling the heat", others (myself included) disagree. While it does <b>sound</b> like that's what he's saying, I can't see a professional astronaut making that statement in a call to the ground. One of the "rules" of space flight and the test flight business is to always let the next guy know what killed you - if Husbands thought that there was a problem with excessive heating, that's exactly what he would have called down: "Huston, Columbia. Cabin temp is rising." or something like that.<p>I seem to recall (I don't have my copy of the CAIB report handy) that when the "feeling the heat" call was made, MCC still had telemetry from the Orbiter, and the cabin temp wasn't significantly higher than usual.</p></p>

 

[shuttle_rtf]

Agreed. Totally out of sync with what would be an expected call to Houston. <br /><br />Some theory is (and this is not me speaking - I really want to get off the Columbia stuff and on to Discovery) that Rick's comm was patchy at best. They back that up with his last two calls being cut.<br /><br />Thus the "Feeling the heat" (however, strange that may seem) could be the end of a possible call - a reflection on his unheard informative call.<br /><br />It's all pretty irrelevant anyway....the 'conspiracy' came from NASA placing something that is quiet obviously not what he said, into the transcript.<br /><br />We'll never know and I kinda regret bringing this up now <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" />

 

[ascan1984]

I listened to the audio and i heard no mater how many times i raan through it no "feeling the heat". I sounded like opkay houston etc.