Flight Procedures

This chapter describes flight operations procedures which concentrate specific flight operations related knowledge from different resources. After a short introduction, the basics concerning flight operations procedures are explained. Different types of procedures are described as well as the life cycle of a procedure from its creation through the validation process until its utilization. Various technical procedure concepts are discussed, and a simple spreadsheet approach is presented in detail as a practical example. Finally, some general rules and guidelines for setting up and using flight operations procedures are given. This chapter will mainly concentrate on operating an unmanned spacecraft from ground, but special aspects of human spaceflight missions will be mentioned where relevant