The Launch Processing System (LPS) is an automated, computer-controlled system at the

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten NASA facilities#List of field c ...

(KSC) which oversees and coordinates the processing and checkout of systems and components for the

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable launch system, reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. ...

launch vehicle and its payloads. The LPS automatically performs tests on much of the vehicle components as they are being readied for launch, and alerts operators if any anomalies are detected. The LPS also manages the launch

countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

events, culminating in a successful launch.

Function

Early in the design of the Space Shuttle program, the expected launch rate was 12 flights per year. The LPS was designed to oversee and manage the parallel processing of multiple orbiters and their subsystems in order to meet this launch schedule. The LPS tracks and manages all components of the Space Shuttle launch vehicle from the time the individual components arrive at KSC, through checkout, integration, testing, installation, and finally culminating in a launch. Any time a component is functioning,

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s within the component relay data on its performance back to the LPS, which checks these results against the expected normal conditions. If the result is unsatisfactory, the LPS then alerts an operator and provides data as to the nature of the component's performance, so that any fault may be isolated and resolved. Because the LPS monitors thousands of individual parameters on the Shuttle and support equipment, the number of personnel required in the firing room is less than half of the 450 engineers required for an

Apollo program The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

launch.

Components

The LPS is composed of three major subsystems: the Checkout, Control and Monitor Subsystem (CCMS), the Central Data Subsystem (CDS), and the Record and Playback Subsystem (RPS).

Checkout, Control and Monitor Subsystem

The Checkout, Control and Monitor Subsystem (CCMS) controls the actual processing and launch of the Space Shuttle. This subsystem consists of the staffed consoles in the firing room, as well as

minicomputer A minicomputer, or colloquially mini, is a type of general-purpose computer mostly developed from the mid-1960s, built significantly smaller and sold at a much lower price than mainframe computers . By 21st century-standards however, a mini is ...

s, and data transmission and recording systems, which monitor the pre-launch performance of all electrical and mechanical systems on board the Shuttle vehicle. The various systems being monitored are managed from operator-controlled consoles, which are clustered together based on the type of systems. The LPS master console in the firing room links the CCMS with the other subsystems of the LPS.

Central Data Subsystem

The Central Data Subsystem (CDS) consists of a cluster of high-end minicomputers which store vital data such as vehicle test and performance data, test procedures, historical data, etc. There are two primary interfaces into the CDS. The first is a

real-time Real-time, realtime, or real time may refer to: Computing * Real-time computing, hardware and software systems subject to a specified time constraint * Real-time clock, a computer clock that keeps track of the current time * Real-time Control Syst ...

interface with the CCMS. The second is a video simulation interface which allows testing of firing room systems without the need to have a vehicle present. The CDS originally consisted of two

mainframe computer A mainframe computer, informally called a mainframe or big iron, is a computer used primarily by large organizations for critical applications like bulk data processing for tasks such as censuses, industry and consumer statistics, enterprise ...

s. It was upgraded in 1999 to its current clustered state, and was renamed the Shuttle Data Center (SDC) The CDS/SDC is located on the second floor of the

Launch Control Center The Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center (commonly known as just the Launch Control Center or LCC) is a four-story building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, used to manage rocket launch, launches of launch vehicles from ...

Record and Playback Subsystem

The Record and Playback Subsystem (RPS), as the name implies, records unprocessed data from various sources during testing and countdown. This can be played back at a later time for analysis. The RPS consists of tape recorders,

telemetry Telemetry is the in situ collection of measurements or other data at remote points and their automatic transmission to receiving equipment (telecommunication) for monitoring. The word is derived from the Greek roots ''tele'', 'far off', an ...

equipment, and computers to perform analysis and data reduction.

References

{{reflist Kennedy Space Center