Mike Leinbach, the final Launch Director of the Space Shuttle Program, and the last man to give the “go for launch” for a crewed US mission from Kennedy Space Center, returned to his old stamping grounds on May 25. He was invited by SpaceX management to meet with the SpaceX launch team and answer any questions they might have about what it’s like to launch humans into orbit.
The testing and launch countdowns for the final decade of Space Shuttle launches were run from Firing Room 4 in the Launch Control Center (LCC). Back in the Shuttle era, four stair-stepped tiers of consoles were staffed by test conductors, security officers, public affairs officers, and other managers. On the main floor, eight semi-circular arcs of consoles, staffed by engineers specializing in the systems of the Space Shuttle and the ground support equipment, faced toward the manager rows and the large windows. Off to either side of the management rows were triangular, glassed-in “bubbles” where VIPs and the Mission Management Team monitored countdown activities.
A Shuttle launch day typically saw several hundred people in the Firing Room, getting ready for the what Mike always called “Game Day.” The mood was always as anticipatory as the locker room before the Super Bowl, except that there were lives on the line.
It’s been nearly nine years since Mike gave the “go” to launch STS-135 on July 8, 2011. Mike retired from NASA shortly after that mission.
For a few years after that, the Launch Control Center and Firing Room 4 were open to public tours. That changed in June 2018, when SpaceX leased Firing Room 4 to control its launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. Working its trademark magic, SpaceX transformed and activated the Firing Room in a matter of months.
The Firing Room has been radically redesigned. Instead of the four management rows, the top row has been extended outward, and there are two rows of consoles on that platform. Mike said that while the whole team wasn’t there today, he believes that perhaps 12 to 15 people will be on that level on launch day. The “bubbles” off to the sides of the room are gone.
On the main floor, there are four large cubicle areas. SpaceX is using two of them, one for VIPs and one for the systems advisors. It’s a much, much smaller number of people in the Firing Room than were on hand for Apollo and Shuttle launches.
Mike could see final preps of the Dragon capsule on the TV monitors. SpaceX was performing last-minute loading of food and supplies. The capsule looks totally “clean” inside, nothing like the Space Shuttle, which had myriad checklists and other items velcro’d to the walls.
The astronauts will be seated in couches that reminded Mike of Barcalounger recliners. They will have oxygen and communications hook-ups, but there’s no need for the crew to carry parachutes. There’s no bail-out option required. The Dragon will carry two astronauts this time. Once the vehicle is operational, the crew size will be four.
If anything goes wrong necessitating that the crew leave the launch pad quickly during countdown, they’ll run to the same slide-wire baskets that served as the pad escape mechanism for the Shuttle astronauts. Since the Falcon/Dragon places the crew compartment 60 feet higher than the Shuttle’s main cabin was on the launch pad, the baskets now start from a much higher level on the launch tower than did the Shuttle-era baskets, although they terminate at the same place at the pad perimeter. Because of the steeper angle of descent, the baskets now have a speed limiting device on them. The crew no longer needs to get into a bunker at the pad perimeter, since the explosive potential of the Falcon is much less than a Space Shuttle. The crew will just climb into the M-113 armored personnel carrier stationed there.
As with Space Shuttle launches, as soon as the vehicle leaves the launch pad, the Firing Room’s primary role is completed Control for the flight passes to SpaceX at Hawthorne and Mission Control in Houston.
There’s no need to worry about weather at transoceanic abort sites, like there was with the Shuttle, which might have had to land at a runway up the US East Coast or in Europe or Africa if something went wrong during ascent. Now, the SpaceX Dragon either lands in the ocean if there’s an abort, or it continues into space. There is a concern about easterly winds during launch, as they could blow the capsule back onto land if there’s an abort shortly after launch.
Mike Leinbach went around the Firing Room to speak with the various test conductors and engineers and learn about their backgrounds, and to answer any questions they might have about what it’s like to have astronauts’ lives on the line for a mission.
Mike Taylor is SpaceX’s launch director. Taylor is a former Air Force test director who’s had dozens of launches using the Inertial Upper Stage. Mike Leinbach that Taylor is eminently qualified to lead this launch team.
I asked Mike how he felt about passing the baton to the next generation. He said, “This is the most transformational launch in a long time. Everything has a completely different feel from when NASA was running the show. It was great to see them in action.”
Mike’s assessment: the SpaceX team is very ready for this launch. He’s excited and happy for them, and he’s confident they’ll do a great job.
Like most of the rest of us, Mike will be watching the countdown from his TV at home. He is fortunate that he’ll be able to step outside and watch the ascent a minute or two after the vehicle has left the launch pad.
