# why do they need all those folks to watch monitors in mission control? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 29, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776 "2005-07-29T17:52:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/1 "2005-07-29T17:52:54Z")
I would imagine that all the systems on the Shuttle and the Space Station have safety paramaters that would alert the ground if exceeded. When NASA TV shows Mission Control, there are always many people sitting at monitors, uh…monitoring. Wouldn’t an abnormal value, or a dangerous status automatically set off bells or whistles? What, in other words, is the value of a human being at one of these consoles? What are they looking for that can’t be automated? xo, C. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/2 "2005-07-29T17:57:49Z")
Little things, mostly. Sure, an alarm can go off if a sensor goes into the red zone, but someone watching the gauges go up and down has a better chance of catching a problem early. Look at it this way. You’re driving on a long stretch of deserted highway. Are you going to wait for the low fuel warning light, or are you going to look at your gas gauge when you see a sign that says “next services 75 miles”? A lot of gauges take a lot of people to read them. ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/3 "2005-07-29T18:21:05Z")
And those people aren’t just watching the monitors; they’re prepared to act if something goes wrong. Each person specializes in aa different area of shuttle operation. You don’t want the guy responsible for the landing gear trouble shooting a problem with the navigational computer, or vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/4 "2005-07-29T19:49:16Z")
Aren’t all those monitors there just to measure TV ratings? 😃 :d&r: ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/5 "2005-07-29T20:21:29Z")
Biggest. Quake tournament. Ever. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/6 "2005-07-29T20:29:47Z")
> [@anson2995](#): > > And those people aren’t just watching the monitors; they’re prepared to act if something goes wrong. Each person specializes in aa different area of shuttle operation. You don’t want the guy responsible for the landing gear trouble shooting a problem with the navigational computer, or vice versa. If only the people who run Customer Service hot lines would learn from their example! ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/7 "2005-07-30T21:25:10Z")
Remember, this is a government operation. It’s like asking the Highway Dept. why one guys is digging the hole while five guys are leaning on their shovels. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2005, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-they-need-all-those-folks-to-watch-monitors-in-mission-control/314776/8 "2005-07-30T23:59:42Z")
That person watching is the person who responds to the alarm, and is an expert on that particular system. It’s not surprising they would watch the gauges the rest of the time too.