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Gene Kranz’s personally-owned and -used ‘Preliminary’ NASA manual entitled “Mercury Control Center / Flight Controller Procedures Manual / MO-188C,” prepared by the Western Electric Company, 171 pages, 8.5 x 11, signed on the title page in black felt tip, “This was my ‘Primer’ for my Procedures Position in Mercury Control, Eugene F. Kranz.” Of the manual’s three main sections—Duties and Responsibilities, Equipment Description, and Flight Controller Procedures—the latter two are the most thorough, with subsections related to “Control Center Layout,” “Equipment of Individual Flight Controllers,” “Communication Procedures,” “Forms and Logs,” and “Console Operations.”
Under “Duties and Responsibilities,” team functions of the flight controller are listed as: “Collectively, the Flight Controllers can be considered as functioning members of three different teams, working with: the Astronaut; the support personnel at Cape Canaveral; and the world wide tracking and ground instrumentation network.” Functions in association with the astronaut, include: “Answer all questions submitted by the Astronaut,” “Monitor all telemetry displays,” “Advise and assist the Astronaut in all problems,” “Arrange to be constantly advised of and cognizant of all current mission activities to enable full support to be given to the Astronaut,” “Monitor and assess the physical condition of the Astronaut and the capsule and, if necessary, recommend or command abort or early re-entry,” “Limit all voice communications to essentials, allowing no superfluous conversations,” “Maintain voice contact with the Astronaut while capsule is within range,” and more. Housed in a three-ring binder with a copy of the original manual cover. In fine condition. An early and fascinating NASA manual that yields seldom-seen insight into the invaluable and dynamic role of the Project Mercury flight controller.
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