What is a Mission Flight Control Officer?

By Carla Voorhees

Capt James Woodard is a 2006 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) who currently serves as an Air Force Mission Flight Control Officer and Range Control Officer for the 1st Range Operations Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  James is the Mission Flight Control Officer for the Atlas V, Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) mission on 6 May 2011. He is also the Forward Observer Air for the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission.

Even in the midst of several schedule changes with the launch of STS-134 Endeavour, the fast paced range operations here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) have not been hindered. This Friday, 6 May 2011, we are honored to launch the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) – a satellite that has been on the Air Force schedule for the past 15 years. For this Atlas V launch, I will be the Mission Flight Control Officer (MFCO): I am in charge of ensuring the rocket maintains nominal flight from lift-off until it reaches orbit.

My efforts as MFCO will add to the overall responsibility of the 1st Range Operations Squadron in ensuring public safety during launches. My operations console is located by the Mission Control Room at the Morrell Operations Center, and I will use a variety of Range Safety Displays to closely monitor the vehicle’s flight and protect the lives of the people in and around the flight path. During flight, I will make real-time decisions to activate destruct systems and terminate flight for non-nominal launch vehicles based on instrumentation, tracking systems, and safety rules. If I were to encounter a situation that required me to send destruct functions to the rocket, I would confirm my actions with the Senior MFCO: Mr. Tong Tang. Fortunately, non-nominal flight is not an everyday occurrence at Cape Canaveral: the last time destruct functions were used was in 1997, for the unmanned Delta II rocket carrying a GPS navigation satellite.

SBIRS GEO-1 is a high-profile launch, as it will directly impact our overseas war fighters. After the Gulf War, the US Department of Defense concluded that they needed to expand our missile early warning capability. SBIRS is the follow-on satellite meant to replace the Defense Support Program which has been operational for the past 30 years. I am truly honored to have this mission as the first of many launches as a Mission Flight Control Officer!