"6_2_3_15.TXT" (6412 bytes) was created on 12-30-88



DISPLAYS AND CONTROLS



The crew compartment of the orbiter contains the most complicated

displays and controls ever developed for an aerodynamic vehicle.  The

displays and controls exist in a variety of configurations, with

toggle, push button, thumbwheel and rotary switches.  Meters are

circular and rectangular dials and rectangular tapes.  Switches and

circuit breakers are positioned in groups corresponding to their

functions.



All controls are protected against inadvertent activation.  Toggle

switches are protected by wicket guards, and lever lock switches are

used wherever inadvertent action would be detrimental to flight

operations or could damage equipment.  Cover guards are used on

switches where inadvertent actuation would be irreversible.



The displays and controls in the orbiter crew compartment enable the

flight crew members to supervise, control and monitor the space

shuttle mission and vehicle.  They include controllers, cathode ray

tube displays and keyboards, coding and conversion electronics for

instruments and controllers, lighting, timing devices, and a caution

and warning system.



The displays and controls are designed so that a crew of two can

perform normal operations in all mission phases (except payload

operations).  They are designed to enable a safe return to Earth from

either the commander's or pilot's seat; flight-critical displays and

controls are accessible from the forward flight deck station from

launch to orbital operations and from deorbit to landing rollout.



All displays and controls have dimmable floodlighting in addition to

integral meter lighting.



There are more than 2,020 displays and controls in the forward and

aft flight decks and middeck of the orbiter.  This represents more

than 100 times the number of controls and displays found in the

average automobile.



Orbiter displays and controls consist of panel displays, mechanical

controls and electrically operated controls.  Generally, the displays

and controls are grouped by function and arranged in operational

sequence from left to right or top to bottom with the most critical

and most frequently used devices located to maximize the crew's

performance and efficiency.



The displays and controls are divided between the forward flight

station and aft flight station.  The forward station contains all the

equipment necessary for the operation of the orbiter.  The aft flight

station contains displays and controls necessary for rendezvous and

docking and for controlling the remote manipulator system and

payloads.



The forward flight control area panels are labeled L for the left, or

commander's position; R for the right, or pilot's position; F for the

front section; O for the overhead position, and C for the lower

center section.



The left panels contain circuit breakers, controls and

instrumentation for the environmental control and life support

system, communications equipment, heating controls, and the trim and

body flap controls.  The commander's speed brake and thrust

controller is on the left panel.  The right panels contain more

circuit breakers; controls for the fuel cells, hydraulic system,

auxiliary power units and engines; and the pilot's communication

controls.  Electrical power distribution controls are also located on

the right-hand panels.  The pilot's speed brake and thrust controller

is to his left on the center console.



The overhead panel contains lighting controls, the computer voting

panel and fuel cell purge controls.  The center console contains the

flight control system channel selector, air data equipment, and

communication and navigation controls.  It also contains fuel cell

circuit breakers and the pilot's trim and body flap controls.



The center forward panel contains the three cathode ray tube display

sets, the caution and warning system, aerosurface position

indicators, backup flight control displays, and the fire protection

system displays and controls.  There are primary flight displays for

both the commander and the pilot as well as auxiliary power unit and

hydraulic displays and controls for the landing gear.  The

glareshield contains the head-up display.



The commander and the pilot have a rotational hand controller with

integral switching to activate the backup flight control system.  The

commander also has a translational hand controller.



The aft flight station contains left, right and center panels.  The

panels contain the power reactant storage and distribution cryo tank

heater control, auxiliary power unit and hydraulic heater controls,

reaction control system and orbital maneuvering system heater

controls, Ku-band and remote manipulator system pyro jettison

controls, communication and utility power plug-ins, translational and

rotational hand controllers, an attitude director indicator, Ku-band

and S-band communications controls, recorder controls, payload

controls, remote manipulator system controls, closed-circuit

television controls, a cathode ray tube and keyboard system.



The contractors involved are: Abbott Transistor, Los Angeles, Calif.

(transformers); Aerospace Avionics Inc., Bohemia, N.Y.  (propellant

quantity indicator and annunciators); Aiken Industries, Mechanical

Product Division, Jackson, Mich.  (thermal circuit breakers); Applied

Resources, Fairfield, N.J.  (rotary switch); Bendix Corp., Teterboro,

N.J.  (surface position, alpha Mach, altitude/vertical velocity

indicators); Bendix Corp., Davenport, Iowa (accelerometer indicator);

SLI System, West Caldwell, N.J.  (mission and event timer); Armtec

Industries Inc., Manchester, N.H.  (digital select thumbwheels,

toggle switches); Eldec Corp., Lynwood, Wash.  (tape meter);

Honeywell Inc., Clearwater, Fla.  (flight control system); IBM Corp.,

Federal Systems Division, Electronics Systems Center, Owego, N.Y.

(cathode ray tube display unit, computer keyboard), ILC Technology,

Sunnyvale, Calif.  (cabin interior and exterior lighting); J.L.

Products, Gardena, Calif.  (push button switch); Lear Siegler, Grand

Rapids, Mich.  (attitude director indicator); Martin Marietta,

Denver, Colo.  (caution and warning status display, limit module);

Weston Instruments, Newark, N.Y.  (event indicator, electrical

indicator meter); Collins-Rockwell, Cedar Rapids, Iowa (display

driver unit, horizontal situation indicator); Aeropanel, Parisippany,

N.J.  (integrally illuminated panels); Betatronix, Hauppauge, N.Y.

(potentiometers).