Posts: 69 From: Alamogordo, NM USA Registered: Aug 2017
posted 07-22-2024 01:13 PM
Ever since as a kid, when I noticed how NASA's Apollo Launch Control Center (LCC) firing room consoles were arranged, I always wondered why they were facing the "back" of the room instead of towards the windows.
I can think of two reasons:
The light coming through the windows could backlight the console displays.
The controllers didn't need to be distracted before the Saturns cleared the tower.
Any thoughts on this?
apolloengr New Member
Posts: 7 From: Boulder, CO, USA Registered: Jul 2016
posted 07-22-2024 07:43 PM
The Firing Room was on several tiers, so even if our consoles on the lowest tier had faced the windows, we were too low to see anything but sky and high clouds.
Ted Peterson New Member
Posts: 4 From: Registered: Jun 2024
posted 07-23-2024 09:24 PM
Did they lock the doors at launch, the way I’ve read it was handled in Houston?
How about possible electrical power service interruption, that will never do, so have always assumed they had generator backups. I remember the news broadcasts, in addition to the Saturn V they would pan down row after row after row of people at their consoles. Impressive!
mgspacecadet Member
Posts: 34 From: Registered: Apr 2012
posted 07-25-2024 11:38 AM
As far as locking the doors to the LCC control Firing Room at KSC, the closest I can remember to something like that, during Shuttle, was right after the Challenger accident, January 28, 1986. Guards were stationed at the Firing Room entrance doors and literally everything was searched, if you were trying to leave the Firing Room with it.
My call sign that day was CMEC (GOX Vent Arm Engineer). Those of us in the Firing Room for T-O filled out witness statements. Our console logs books and other data were impounded for months. Firing Room 3 was used for Challenger. And it was the first launch from LC39B since ASTP.
mgspacecadet Member
Posts: 34 From: Registered: Apr 2012
posted 08-01-2024 02:45 PM
Answering the original question of why the Apollo consoles faced the back of the Firing Room, the following is provided by Bob Sieck, Shuttle Launch Director:
The traditional layout of launch control rooms - beginning with the blockhouses at the Cape - was enter at the "front" near the test conductors and everyone faced the "rear."
The reason — no distractions for the controllers. At pad 19 (Gemini), we had to check in on our headset as soon as we got to our console. If we were there for any other reason we had to get permission from the test conductors. Discipline!!
From Apollo through the end of the shuttle program, the following are the total number of launches controlled from each respective LCC Firing Room (FR):
FR1 - 69
FR2 - 5
FR3 - 58
FR4 - 21
Apollo 11 and STS-1 were launched from FR1. FR4 was first used for STS-121 and the remainder of the Shuttle launches. FR2 has the least number of launches as it was only used as a control FR for Apollo. FR2 was used as an engineering support room, to support the control FR, for Shuttle launches.
Detailed information like the above is at Neat Information Updates, under Neat Documents.
In addition, this video, circa 2014, provides some neat history of the LCC, including some great commentary by Bob, Mike Leinbach and Pete Minderman:
damnyankee36 Member
Posts: 69 From: Alamogordo, NM USA Registered: Aug 2017
posted 08-05-2024 08:00 AM
Thank you for that detailed answer!
Jim Behling Member
Posts: 1936 From: Cape Canaveral, FL Registered: Mar 2010
posted 08-05-2024 09:39 AM
The few consoles of the early blockhouses of LC-1/2, 3/4 and 9/10 faced the pads and there were large mirror periscopes. The wedge shape blockhouses of 5/6, 17, 18 and 26 had consoles facing the pads looking through thick glass windows. LC-11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19, 20, 34, 36 and 37 used thick domed blockhouses with submarine periscopes.
Console orientation was meaningless. 31/32 were sandbagged domes and used TV cameras. LC-40/41 Titan LCC were deep in the VIB and later moved to the LOCC (former CPOCC and DSIF). Atlas V at 41 moved LCC to ASOC (former MIS) and has a huge video wall. Falcon 9 at LC-40 original LCC was in a building just outside the Cape South Gate but moved to the SpaceX facilities on Roberts Road on KSC.
Never been in the following: The SLBM pads 25 and 29 look like the wedge shaped ones. 30 is two story wedge shaped.
posted 07-22-2024 01:13 PM
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