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News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration
Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center
Houston, Texas 77058
AC 713 483-5111
Distributed Earth Model Orbiter Simulation Used During STS-32
A new graphic display first used in Mission Control during the space shuttle Atlantis' October 1989 flight will again provide three-dimensional views of the Shuttle and Earth during shuttle mission STS-32, Columbia's flight scheduled for launch this month.
The Distributed Earth Model Orbiter Simulation (DEMOS) is a joint project between the Mission Operations Directorate and the Mission Support Directorate. The display is based on live position and attitude data from the shuttle and provides a color view of the way the shuttle looks as it orbits the Earth. The view is presented as if seen from a variety of imaginary points, ranging from a look at the whole planet with an exaggerated shuttle orbiter circling it to a rear-position view of the orbiter as it reenters the atmosphere, barking as it slows for approach and landing.
Although it is based on live data, the display is driven by predicted simulations of the Orbiter's position during times when such data is not available. In addition to showing the Earth and the shuttle, the display will include the Sun, the Moon, 100 of the brightest navigational stars, and payloads, including the Long Duration Exposure facility (LDEF) scheduled to be brought back to Earth on STS-32. The groundtrack of the shuttle also will be displayed as part of the new graphic.
The new display will be projected on one of the four large screens that flank the 10-foot by 20-foot global tracking map at the front of the Flight Control Room. DEMOS is not a replacement graphic for the global tracking map, nor a graphic that has been certified for use in makirg operational mission decisions. For STS-32, DEMOS will be used only during periods of high activity and interest, including the rendezvous with LDEF and landing.
DEMOS has been developed by a small team in the Mission Operations Systems Lab at JSC. Its development is part of a continuing effort to upgrade the graphics and information displayed for flight controllers to aid them in visualizing the Orbiter's positions.
