COM

Congratulations, you have been chosen as the Communications (COM) officer for this important mission. Your job is to be the voice of Mission Control. You will be speaking directly to the Mission Commander, relaying any messages from your teammates over to the spacecraft.

You will need to follow every step on this page, without skipping a single step. If you find at any point that the readings from the spacecraft are not safe, you must inform the crew! Do not begin the first step until told to do so by the Mission Commander.

You will be communicating with other teams using the CHAT at the bottom of the screen. Make sure you use the drop down menu to select the correct team you want to send the message to.  Once you have typed it in the CHAT, make sure to hit Enter so that the team receives it.

To deliver messages back and forth from the spacecraft to your team, follow these directions:

1. Frequently check the CHAT for new messages.

2. If a new chat message from a team member directed to the Spacecraft has appeared, it is your job to send it to the Mission Commander using the following instructions.

**NOTE: If you receive a message from a team regarding an emergency, scroll to the bottom section of this page titled “EMERGENCY”. Follow all directions in the “EMERGENCY” section to ensure the safety of the Mission Commander.

3. Check that the message has a Team name on it (such as ISO, NAV, MED, etc). If it does have it, you may continue to Step #4. If it does not, politely type in the CHAT the following message: 

(Student’s name), please resend the entire message according to your task page.

4. Say the entirety of the underlined message to Mission Commander:

“The MC team has a message for the Mission Commander.  Please ….”

or “We have a message from the (team name) team. Over.

5. Wait until the Mission Commander responds. If there is no response, press or click the MICROPHONE button to ensure you are not muted, and then resend the message. 

6. Once you hear the Mission Commander respond, you will say the entirety of the following underlined message to Mission Commander:

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The message from the (team name) team is: (fill in this blank with the chat message). Over. 

7. Wait until the Mission Commander responds. If there is no response, press or click the MICROPHONE button to ensure you are not muted, and then resend the message.

8. Repeat Steps #1 through #7 until told to do otherwise by the Flight Director or Mission Commander.

To ensure you can do your job as a COM officer well, follow these directions:

1. Locate the MICROPHONE button on your call software. 

2. The MICROPHONE button will have two states: on (UNMUTE) and off (MUTE0. To test that it works, say the entirety of the underlined message to Mission Commander:

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. We are beginning our tasks. Do you read me, over?

3. Wait for a response from the Mission Commander. If there is no response, press or click the MICROPHONE button to ensure you are not muted, and then repeat the message. If you get a response from the Mission Commander, that means the communication system is working, and you may continue to the next step.

4. Send the following message in CHAT to “Everyone”:

This is MC COM to all teams. Anytime you have a message for MC COM, type it in this chat.

5. Move on to the COMSAT ALIGNMENT section.

Follow these directions to perform a communication satellite alignment check with the Mission Commander aboard the Spacecraft:

1. Say the entirety of the underlined message to Mission Commander:

2. Wait until the Mission Commander responds. If there is no response, repeat your message.

3. Once you hear the Mission Commander respond continue on to the next COM message. 

1

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. We have a message from the COM team. Over.

 2

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The message from the COM team is please prepare to perform a communication satellite alignment check. Over.

                                             

 3

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The message from the COM team is please ensure Satellite #1 is in Position #3. Over.

 4

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The message from the COM team is please ensure Satellite #2 is in Position #5. Over.

 5

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The message from the COM team is please ensure Satellite #3 is in Position #2. Over.

 6

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The message from the COM team is the communication satellite alignment check is completed. Over. 

Once this is completed, you may return to the section “MESSAGES”.

When told by the Flight Director to proceed to this section and begin communications.

 1

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. We have a message for the Mission Commander. Over.

 2

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The NAV team reports we are ready to enter the orbit of Europa. Over.

 Once this is completed, you may return to the section “MESSAGES”.

When told by the Flight Director to proceed to this section, begin probe launch communications.

1

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. We have a message for the Mission Commander. Over.

2 

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The PROBE team reports they are ready to launch the PROBE. Over.

Once this is completed, you may return to the section “MESSAGES”.

When told by the Flight Director to proceed to this section, begin return and dock communications.

1

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. We have a message for the Mission Commander. Over. 

 2

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The NAV team reports we are ready to dock with the Jupiter Gateway. Over.

Once this is completed, you may return to the section “MESSAGES”.

If the Flight Director, Mission Commander, or a member of your crew has informed you of an EMERGENCY, follow these instructions:

1. Say the entirety of the following message to Mission Commander:

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. We have an EMERGENCY onboard the spacecraft. Over.

2. Wait until the Mission Commander responds with the following message. If there is no response, repeat the message.

This is Spacecraft to Mission Control. I am awaiting emergency directions. Over.

3. Once you hear the Mission Commander respond, say:

This is MC COM to Spacecraft. The (team that found the emergency) team will be now sending you directions on how to solve the EMERGENCY. Over.

4.  If you can not hear the team member, ask them to UNMUTE the MICROPHONE button to ensure they are not muted, and then have them repeat the message. Once the emergency has been resolved, inform the Mission Commander:

This is Mission Control to the Spacecraft. The EMERGENCY has been resolved. Over.

5. Once this is completed, you may return to the section “MESSAGES”.