FALCON USER’S GUIDE LAUNCH OPERATIONS 8.5.1 ORGANIZATION The main decision-making roles and responsibilities for launch operations are shown in Table 8-2. Note that this list is not inclusive of all stations participating in the launch, but, rather, is limited to those that have direct input in the decision- making process. Table 8-2: Launch control organization Position Abbrev. Organization Chief Engineer CE SpaceX Mission manager MM SpaceX Launch director LD SpaceX Missile flight control officer, or MFCO, or Launch Range flight safety officer FSO Operations safety manager, or OSM, or Launch Range ground safety officer GSO The launch control organization and its lines of decision-making are shown in Figure 8-7. The details of the launch control organization are somewhat dependent on the mission and customer. The payload manager, or a payload manager representative, will sit at the payload station in the SpaceX launch control center alongside the SpaceX mission manager. Launch Decision Launch Director Operations Safety Authority Manager Launch Chief Range Mission Control Engineer Coordinator Manager Launch Flight Flight Range Customer Software Termination Software Launch System Director Vehicle Controller Ground GNC Ground Avionics Propulsion Controller Figure 8-7: Launch control organization 8.5.2 SPACECRAFT CONTROL CENTER SpaceX provides a spacecraft control center for remote payload command and control operations during the launch countdown. Customer EGSE and spacecraft personnel will be located within the spacecraft control center during launch. The spacecraft control center includes full fiber-optic voice, video and Internet connectivity to the launch site, SpaceX Launch Control (Section 8.5.3), and other range facilities. © Space Exploration Technologies Corp. All rights reserved. 57