Eyes & ears in space - remote mode

NASA TV is on at our house. It is my entertainment these days. I am fascinated by NASA's Discovery/ISS mission in space.
It's moving day. The crew's current activity is moving the Italian-made "Leonardo" MPLM (Multi Purpose Logistics Module), via robotic arm, from the shuttle payload bay to the "Unity" node of the International Space Station. And, if you are not familiar with this jargon, you have no idea of what I am talking about.
They all have big notebooks. One of the reasons we don't always understand is because we don't have the same great big notebooks, from which it seems everyone on the ground and in space operate. And I sometimes do not understand the conversations because of the use of acronyms, scientific terms, shorthand phrases, "inside" terminology and other unfamiliar wording. Examples I have learned:

• "copy" = I understand
• "capture" = lock a module in place with bolts
• "EVA" = extra-vehicular activity/space walk in a suit
• "current config" = the way we have the switches are set up
• "on the big loop" = one of several different communication channels operating
• "public affairs event" = in-flight interviews with the crew broadcast to us from space

In remote mode: Space activity is characterized by its remote nature. Every facet of it is remote to the NASA, Russian and EU participants, and to us the listeners and viewers. Because I have been a "space junkie" for decades, my eyes and ears are familiar enough with the processes to understand a bit of what is going on. But I am much more remote from it than those doing it.
However, space agency people all over the world operate in remote mode in so very many ways.
Many things can go wrong, so wrong that a catastrophe with loss of life could happen. Everything in space has been artificially constructed in order to support human life. What is real is the vacuum of space - cold and inhospitable, with no oxygen, incredible levels of pressure, and far from home. Most of the key participants are separated from each other, often operating on tight budgets, short amounts of sleep, missed meals, demanding schedules and the pressures of the world looking in on what they do.
Blocks, blinders and earplugs interfere with control - Space agency people's eyes and ears are sometimes barricaded from receiving clear and direct information for many reasons. Physical and time distances separate them; language, gender and cultural differences exist; electronic communication from space to ground sometimes breaks downs; several different control rooms and air-to-ground communications channels overlap. At times ground controls an activity remotely; sometimes the folks in space do it themselves. And activities are almost always carried out by teams of people. Therefore team members are in the lead or in support of the project - more or less remote from control of the outcomes.
Under control - "Three sets of eyes looking in . . . " was just the report we heard. It was the good news that some out-of-place insulation straps would not interfere with a good tight seal of the module to the ISS. Therefore the robotic arm operator, Stephanie, will shortly berth/connect the MPLM to the space station, where it can be unloaded of its precious cargo and then reloaded with discarded material for its return to earth. "Whew!" Another activity in those big notebooks can be checked off by all. Ground just gave permission for some the crew to get a bite of lunch. The rest have now begun the media (radio) event.
"Over and out," I'm going to listen to Steve, the pilot in command. He's just described the shuttle's ascent as "riding on a runaway train at a thousand miles an hour.' Though I am in vicarious remote mode, that sure sounds like fun.
Tags: NASA space shuttle ISS Discovery