A R I A

MC

Onboard supervision of prime mission electronic equipment (PMEE) instrumentation crew during a mission is the responsibility of the ARIA Mission Coordinator. The Mission Coordinator (MC) operates a master control console where the status and operation of all ARIA subsystems are monitored and can initiate commands to the equipment operators under their direction. The Mission Coordinator is the interface between the aircraft and the ARIA Operations Control Center (AOCC) for the coordination of mission-related information. The MIssion Coordinator also serves as the point of contact between the flight crew and the instrumentation crew.

The Mission Coordinator's console provides indicators to monitor the status and operation of all onboard subsystems and to initiate instructions for the PMEE crew. The signals received from other subsystems regarding operational status illuminate lighted indicators. Digital displays display GMT and countdown, or ground elapsed time, and meter-type gauges provide antenna azimuth and elevation information.
The console provides private intercom facilities between the Mission Coordinator and each ARIA equipment operator, pilot, and navigator. A joint communication net including all positions designated PMEE-IC, and selected conference loops also provided.

Signals initiated from the PMEE subsystems indicate when a transmitter is transmitting or receiving, and when a recorder is in record or playback mode. A go, no-go, or failure indicator, which is manually activated by the subsystem operator after inflight checks, indicates the status of the subsystem. Additional signals from the antenna subsystem indicate manual or auto-track modes and loss of signal.

Miscellaneous control functions provided at the master control console are pushbutton indicators which direct the recording operator to start and stop magnetic tape recorders in the record/playback mode and pushbutton switches to start and stop the countdown/elapsed time clock.

Credit: NASA
Rewritten and edited by Randy L. Losey