Space Shuttle Countdown Simulation

Simulation is used at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to train and certify Space Shuttle engineers during simulated launch countdown operations. The Space Shuttle engineering community participates in a launch countdown integrated simulation before each shuttle flight. This simulation is a virtual simulation where real people interact with simulated Space Shuttle vehicle and Ground Support Equipment (GSE) hardware. The Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation, also known as S0044, involves countdown processes that integrate many of the Space Shuttle vehicle and GSE systems. Some of the Shuttle systems integrated in the simulation are the Main Propulsion System, Main Engines, Solid Rocket Boosters, ground Liquid Hydrogen and Liquid Oxygen,External Tank, Flight Controls, Navigation, and Avionics.^[54] The high-level objectives of the Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation are:

• To demonstrate Firing Room final countdown phase operations.
• To provide training for system engineers in recognizing, reporting and evaluating system problems in a time critical environment.
• To exercise the launch teams ability to evaluate, prioritize and respond to problems in an integrated manner within a time critical environment.
• To provide procedures to be used in performing failure/recovery testing of the operations performed in the final countdown phase.^[55]

The Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation takes place at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Control Center Firing Rooms. The firing room used during the simulation is the same control room where real launch countdown operations are executed. As a result, equipment used for real launch countdown operations is engaged. Command and control computers, application software, engineering plotting and trending tools, launch countdown procedure documents, launch commit criteria documents, hardware requirement documents, and any other items used by the engineering launch countdown teams during real launch countdown operations are used during the simulation. The Space Shuttle vehicle hardware and related GSE hardware is simulated by mathematical models (written in Shuttle Ground Operations Simulator (SGOS) modeling language ^[56]) that behave and react like real hardware. During the Shuttle Final Countdown Phase Simulation, engineers command and control hardware via real application software executing in the control consoles – just as if they were commanding real vehicle hardware. However, these real software applications do not interface with real Shuttle hardware during simulations. Instead, the applications interface with mathematical model representations of the vehicle and GSE hardware. Consequently, the simulations bypass sensitive and even dangerous mechanisms while providing engineering measurements detailing how the hardware would have reacted. Since these math models interact with the command and control application software, models and simulations are also used to debug and verify the functionality of application software.^[57]