posted 11-19-2007 09:16 PM               

• Gene Kranz
  
• Chris Kraft
  
• Glynn Lunney
  
• Gerry Griffin
  
• Cliff Charlesworth
  
• M.P. "Pete" Frank
  
• Neil Hutchinson
  
• Charles Lewis
  
• Donald Puddy
  
• Philip Shaffer

posted 11-19-2007 09:20 PM               

• Gene Kranz - White
  
• Chris Kraft - Red
  
• Glynn Lunney - Black
  
• Gerry Griffin - Gold
  
• Cliff Charlesworth - Green
  
• M.P. "Pete" Frank - Orange
  
• Neil Hutchinson - Silver
  
• Charles Lewis - Bronze
  
• Donald Puddy - Crimson
  
• Philip Shaffer - Purple

posted 11-21-2007 03:59 PM               

Space Shuttle

• Crystal - Harold Draughon
  
• Ivory - Tommy Holloway
  
• Granite - John Cox
  
• Gray - Gary Coen
  
• Indigo - Larry Bourgeois
  
• Amber - Randy Stone
  
• Emerald - Jay Greene
  
• Orion - Cleon Lacefield
  
• Aquila - Lee Briscoe
  
• Sirius - Milt Heflin
  
• Polaris - Al Pennington
  
• Alpha - Bill Reeves
  
• Altair - Chuck Shaw
  
• Rigel - Chuck Knarr
  
• Phoenix - Ron Dittemore
  
• Turquoise - Wayne Hale
  
• Falcon - Rob Kelso
  
• Antares - Bob Castle
  
• Aurora - Jeff Bantle
  
• Regulus - Phil Engelauf
  
• Burgundy - Rich Jackson
  
• Corona - Linda Ham
  
• Iron - Paul Dye
  
• Perseus - Bryan Austin
  
• Midnight - John Shannon
  
• Atlas - Paul Hill
  
• Kitty Hawk - John Muratore
  
• Argon - Andy Algate
  
• Chromium - LeRoy Cain
  
• Sapphire - Kelly Beck
  
• Topaz - Catherine Koerner
  
• Intrepid - Tony Ceccacci
  
• Garnet - Steve Stich

• Cassini - Sally Davis
  
• Cardinal - Mark Kirasich
  
• Ares - Jeff Hanley
  
• Azure - Mark Ferring
  
• Arcturus - John Curry
  
• Pegasus - Rick LaBrode
  
• Flash - Joel Montalbano
  
• Eagle - John McCullough
  
• Amethyst - Norman Knight
  
• Fuchsia - Annette Hasbrook
  
• Titanium - Derek Hassmann
  
• Onyx - Bryan Lunney
  
• Aquarius - Matt Abbott

posted 05-04-2011 03:09 PM            

1. Red Flight - Christopher C. Kraft, 1960
   
2. Blue Flight - John Hodge, 1963
   
3. White Flight - Eugene F. Kranz, 1963
   
4. Black Flight - Glynn S. Lunney, 1963
   
5. Green Flight - Clifford E. Charlesworth, 1966
   
6. Gold Flight - Gerald D. Griffin, 1968
   
7. Maroon Flight - Milton L. Windler, 1968
   
8. Orange Flight - M. P. (Pete) Frank, 1968
   
9. Purple Flight - Phillip C. Shaffer, 1971
   
10. Crimson Flight - Donald R. Puddy, 1971
    
11. Silver Flight - Neil B. Hutchinson, 1971
    
12. Bronze Flight - Charles R. Lewis, 1971
    
13. Ivory Flight - Tommy W. Holloway, 1979
    
14. Crystal Flight - Harold M. Draughon, 1979
    
15. Gray Flight - Gary E. Coen, 1981
    
16. Granite Flight - John T. Cox, 1981
    
17. Emerald Flight - Jay H. Greene, 1981
    
18. Amber Flight - Brock (Randy) Stone, 1981
    
19. Indigo Flight - Lawrence S. Bourgeois, 1981
    
20. Aquila Flight - A. (Lee) Briscoe, 1983
    
21. Orion Flight - T. Cleon Lacefield, 1983
    
22. Polaris Flight - Granvil A. Pennington, 1983
    
23. Alpha Flight - William D. Reeves, 1983
    
24. Altair Flight - Charles W. Shaw, 1983
    
25. Sirius Flight - J. Milton Heflin, Jr., 1983
    
26. Rigel Flight - Charles R. Knarr, 1983
    
27. Phoenix Flight - Ronald D. Dittemore, 1985
    
28. Turquoise Flight - N. Wayne Hale, Jr., 1988
    
29. Antares Flight - Robert E. Castle, Jr., 1988
    
30. Falcon Flight - Robert M. Kelso, 1988
    
31. Regulus Flight - Philip L. Engelauf, 1989
    
32. Aurora Flight - Jeffrey W. Bantle, 1989
    
33. Corona Flight - Linda J. (Hautzinger) Ham, 1991
    
34. Burgundy Flight - Richard D. Jackson, Jr., 1991
    
35. Kitty Hawk Flight - John F. Muratore, 1992
    
36. Iron Flight - Paul F. Dye, 1993
    
37. Perseus Flight - Bryan P. Austin, 1993
    
38. Midnight Flight - John P. Shannon, 1993
    
39. Argon Flight - Andrew F. Algate, 1994
    
40. Atlas Flight - Paul S. Hill, 1996
    
41. Ares Flight - Jeffrey M. Hanley, 1996
    
42. Cardinal Flight - Marchk A. Kirasich, 1996
    
43. Cassini Flight - Sally P. Davis, 1996
    
44. Azure Flight - Marchk J. Ferring, 1996
    
45. Arcturus Flight - John M. Curry, 1998
    
46. Pegasus Flight - Richard E. La Brode, Jr., 1998
    
47. Chromium Flight - Leroy E. Cain, 1998
    
48. Sapphire Flight - Kelly B. Beck, 1998
    
49. Flash Flight - Joel R. Montalbano, 2000
    
50. Eagle Flight - John A. McCullough, 2000
    
51. Amethyst Flight - Norman D. Knight, 2000
    
52. Fuchsia Flight - Annette P. Hasbrook, 2000
    
53. Titanium Flight - J. Derek Hassmann, 2000
    
54. Onyx Flight - Bryan C. Lunney, 2000
    
55. Aquarius Flight - Matthew R. Abbott, 2000
    
56. Topaz Flight - Catherine A. Koerner, 2000
    
57. Intrepid Flight - Anthony J. Ceccacci, 2000
    
58. Garnet Flight - Steven J. Stich, 2000
    
59. Defiant Flight - Kwatsi Alibaruho, 2005
    
60. Vega Flight - Ginger Kerrick, 2005
    
61. Galileo Flight - Robert Dempsey, 2005
    
62. Viking Flight - Holly Ridings, 2005
    
63. Mercury Flight - Dana Weigel, 2005
    
64. Liberty Flight - Brian Smith, 2005
    
65. Sigma Flight - Richard Jones, 2005
    
66. Kodiak Flight - Michael Sarafin, 2005
    
67. Apex Flight - Michael Moses, 2005
    
68. Sequoia Flight - Heather Rarick, 2006
    
69. Gemini Flight - Ron Spencer, 2006
    
70. Peridot Flight - Emily J. Nelson, 2007
    
71. Tranquility Flight - Courtenay McMillan, 2007
    
72. Odyssey Flight - David Korth, 2007
    
73. Venture Flight - J. Chris Edelen, 2007
    
74. Tungsten Flight - Royce J. Renfrew, 2008
    
75. Raptor Flight - Jerry P. Jason, 2008
    
76. Viper Flight - Gary C. Horlacher, 2008
    
77. Saturn Flight - Michael L. Lammers, 2008
    
78. Carbon Flight - Edward A. Van Cise, 2009
    
79. Keystone Flight - Scott Stover, 2009
    
80. Steel Flight - Dina Contella, 2009

posted 10-08-2014 06:39 PM               

Since the advent of human spaceflight in the United States, for as long as there have been Flight Directors, each Flight Director had a team color or name. This not only identified a particular Flight Director but gave a specific shift of flight controllers a single identity for a given mission. For example, those working with Chris Kraft would be the Red Team, for he is Red Flight. Gene Kranz' team was the White Team, and so on.

The tradition of Flight Directors picking their own team color, name, or call sign has continued to carry on to this day. A Flight Director's team name stays with that Flight Director forever. It retires when that Flight Director leaves the Office and is never reused.

posted 10-08-2014 06:58 PM               

I wasn't even familiar with the whole "color" thing until I interviewed Gene Kranz for my school newspaper my freshman year of high school and I asked him (rather untactfully, but he laughed and answered in detail) "What's the deal with the vests?"

Even then I didn't realize the full extent until a few years later, when I was researching for a magazine article that I wanted to write about the impact of Flight Directors and what each one individually brought to the table, and my PR contact at NASA sent me their email addresses and I saw just how many included their color.

posted 06-30-2016 08:04 PM               

Congratulations to NASA's 87th certified Flight Director, Mary [Lawrence] - "Infinity Flight"!

posted 09-26-2016 05:35 PM               

And noted today by Royce Renfrew (Tungsten Flight) on Twitter:

Congratulations Vincent LaCourt, Flight Director #89 - Destiny Flight!

posted 10-07-2016 12:07 AM               

Flight Director 90, Rick Henfling, is Redstone Flight.

posted 10-17-2016 11:12 PM               

For example, Gene Kranz is, was, and always will be "White Flight" — "White" being the team color and "Flight" being the job.

But what about, let's say, Sy Liebergot?

Is he "White [or Gold] EECOM" or do the colors not apply to controllers? Also, if the colors do apply, were team assignments permanent or did they vary by mission?

To cut a long question short and use the example of Sy, which of these is the most accurate to describe his role during Apollo 13 (and possibly beyond):

• "White [or Gold] EECOM"
  
• "Apollo 13 EECOM"
  
• "Apollo 13 White [or Gold] EECOM"

Edited to add:

posted 11-28-2016 05:07 PM               

Congratulations Anthony Vareha! 91st Flight Director; Enterprise Flight!

posted 11-28-2016 05:15 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mike_The_First:
How does the team color thing work for flight controllers?

---

For example, during Apollo 7, shift 1 was led Gene Kranz with the White Team, shift 2 was led by Glynn Lunney with the Black Team, and shift 3 was led by Gerry Griffin with the Gold Team.

Each shift/team included a lead for each console, such that there were White, Black and Gold EECOMs, FIDOs and per my understanding, CapComs, too.

posted 07-25-2017 07:01 AM            

1. Howard Tindall - Grey Flight
   
2. Lois Ransdell - Pink Flight
   
3. Alene Ganzer - Diamond Flight
   
4. John O'Neill - Scarlet Flight
   
5. Robert Legler - History Flight

posted 09-03-2017 06:40 PM               

quote:

---

Originally posted by Robert Pearlman:
It began with Kraft, Hodge and Kranz choosing Red, Blue and White.

---

So we ended up with Chris had taken the red, I arbitrarily took blue, Gene took white because of the flag bit, and out of perversity Glynn took black.

The idea was that we needed to set up teams and we had to call them something, and the sort of Red Team concept was fairly normal in programs. The military used them all the time. So I picked blue.

That's something I was kind of surprised to learn, but it explains why two and three weren't switched. Although I noticed something a bit peculiar in the way he phrased another element of the discussion:

We brought in Glynn as a flight director to run Gemini IV, when we first started the thing, and Gene came in as the third flight director in the Control Center.

That said, Hodge's recollection seems to present its own set of challenges, since Gemini 4 only had three shifts, and, by many sources, Kranz had the second one with Hodge having the third.

Lunney, per his Oral History, worked Gemini 4 from the Cape, in case there were any issues — similar to what he says he did for Gemini 3, only with the locations reversed. So Gemini 4 doesn't seem to have the significance to his career that Hodge painted it as.

Was Lunney originally supposed to have Kranz's role? As noted above, he and Kranz did get the job around the same time, so it would seem to me that intent is more or less an important factor. By that, I mean that if Lunney got the job with the idea that they'd use him for Gemini 4, while Kranz got it with the idea that they'd use him when they needed him, then, regardless of how it came out, that would (in my eyes) give Lunney an edge for the no. 3 spot.

Of course, if we're counting by when they first took the flight director console, rather than by when they got the title, Kranz is a clear no. 3. So, with that, I'm not even 100% what order we're using when we number them. For the most part, that doesn't seem like a distinction that would be need to be made, except in rare cases like this.

posted 10-21-2019 10:00 PM               

Congrats to NASA Flight Director Allison Bolinger for recently completing her first solo shift! Bolinger has previously supported NASA as a spacewalk flight controller, deputy chief of the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory and now as a Flight Director. Her call sign is Athena Flight.

posted 11-16-2019 03:30 PM               

Family, friends, flight controllers and fellow flight directors gathered to congratulate NASA Flight Directors Marcos Flores on completing his first solo shift! Flores' journey began as an intern, and he was hired as a systems engineer before becoming a flight controller and now, flight director. His call sign is Argo Flight.

posted 09-12-2020 12:57 AM               

Last Friday (Sept. 4), NASA Flight Director Royce Renfrew completed his final shift — 720 in all — as an International Space Station Flight Director. Employees in Mission Control celebrated by wearing red as others shared well wishes from their cars in a parade. Congratulations, Royce!

posted 09-12-2020 01:29 AM               

81. Daedalus Flight - Judd Frieling, 2011
    
82. Lightning Flight - Tomas Gonzalez Torres, 2011
    
83. Discovery Flight - Greg Whitney, 2011
    
84. Resolute Flight - Jeff Radigan, 2014
    
85. Prometheus Flight - Amit Kshatriya, 2014
    
86. Explorer Flight - Zeb Scoville, 2014
    
87. Infinity Flight - Mary Lawrence, 2015
    
88. Saber Flight - T.J. Creamer, 2015
    
89. Destiny Flight - Vincent Lacourt, 2015
    
90. Redstone Flight - Rick Henfling, 2015
    
91. Enterprise Flight - Anthony Vareha, 2015
    
92. Cerulean Flight - Rebecca Wingfield, 2018
    
93. Zenith Flight - Adi Boulos, 2018
    
94. Unity Flight - Pooja Jesrani, 2018
    
95. Athena Flight - Allison Bolinger, 2018
    
96. Argo Flight - Marcos Flores, 2018
    
97. Excelsior Flight - Paul Konyha, 2018

posted 10-13-2021 02:23 PM               

Congratulations Brandon Lloyd, Adagio Flight, #98! First shift on console as a certified Flight Director.

posted 01-10-2022 04:28 PM               

Diane Dailey worked her first shift on console and announced her callsign - Horizon Flight. Congratulations on being the 99th NASA Flight Director, Horizon!

posted 01-10-2022 04:30 PM               

Congratulations to Fiona Turett, Mosaic Flight - the 100th NASA Flight Director! Keep the ISS flying for a long time to come!

posted 02-17-2022 10:45 PM               

Congratulations to Lion Flight, Chloe Mehring, NASA's 101st Flight Director!

posted 02-15-2023 06:34 PM               

Congratulations to Chris Dobbins, NASA's 102nd NASA Flight Director. Call sign Ignis Flight.

posted 04-13-2023 03:12 PM               

Welcome Cerberus Flight!! Elias Myrmo was certified as NASA's 103rd Flight Director earlier this week, and is now working shifts to lead ISS operations.

As Flight Director, Elias is responsible for leading the mission control team to support human spaceflight missions, and making critical real-time decisions to keep the astronauts safe in space. Elias chose Cerberus (the three-headed Greek watchdog) as his team name as a representation of his dedication to be a guardian for our missions and foundational values, including being prepared for the unexpected. In his role, Elias will also harness the range and diversity of experiences within his team to solve any challenges that arise, akin to Cerberus having three heads to provide perspective.

During his first shift, Elias announced his team name, revealed his patch, and was awarded his Flight Director pin. His family, friends, and colleagues gathered to congratulate him on the career milestone.

posted 07-11-2023 08:52 AM               

Congrats to Nicole McElroy for certifying as NASA's 104th flight director!

She has selected the team name Vista, to recognize the view that allows us to see expansive landscapes and uncharted territory and motivate us to work toward the future of human spaceflight!

posted 09-08-2023 11:21 PM               

Congrats 105!! Ronak Dave was certified as NASA's 105th Flight Director yesterday and will be known as Momentum Flight!

During his first shift, Ronak gave a meaningful speech to announce his team name and reveal his patch - both of which symbolize important values for his team to take to heart. Momentum Flight has both material and metaphorical meaning: from the physics of momentum enabling navigation of the seas and stars to the power of the momentum in decisions that enable us to move toward to our goals.

As such, his patch features a gyroscope in the middle, representing the importance of harnessing this momentum and having a balanced approach to working our missions. The Earth, Moon, and Mars highlight human spaceflight in each of these domains, and the view from the Moon features the Tsiolkovsky Crater with the rocket equation written out. The middle of the gyroscope is the flight director emblem, and the end caps are an homage to the FOD (Flight Operations Directorate) Patch with symbols of star shaped orbital spacecraft and launch vehicle.

This patch will be on display in the Mission Control Room for every shift that Ronak is leading to remind him and his team of the principles of Momentum.

Congratulations Momentum Flight, we look forward to seeing you and your patch continue to bring momentum to FCR1!

posted 12-05-2023 07:34 PM               

Congratulations Alliance Flight! We are excited to celebrate Heidi Brewer who worked her first Flight Director shift earlier this week (Oct. 19).⁣

During her first shift, Heidi announced her team name as Alliance, which represents the power of the team working together to achieve inspiring goals in human spaceflight.⁣
⁣
While repairing the Hubble Space Telescope, constructing the International Space Station, adding an expandable module, and launching new cargo and crew vehicles, Heidi has great experience of teams reaching lofty achievements by asking hard questions and finding solutions. She has worked across a wide range of groups — including operations, engineering, science, international, and commercial partners — and has seen the aerospace community learn and grow together. Her callsign highlights the value of teamwork and cooperation that she will continue to encourage and leverage while leading operations as Flight.⁣
⁣
Heidi's family, friends, and colleagues gathered in Houston to celebrate her Flight Director certification, something she has dreamed of and worked towards for a long time. We look forward to Alliance Flight working many shifts in FCR1 that will move us a little closer to those big goals⁣.

posted 12-05-2023 07:34 PM               

Welcome Kinetic Flight!! Garrett Hehn took the shift for the first-time last week as NASA's 107th Flight Director!

Garrett chose his team's name, Kinetic, in recognition of the team's role in taking humanity further and faster. It is a reminder of the team's responsibility to convert the potential, the product of countless hours of hard work across the globe, into forward progress. The call sign serves a challenge to seize the opportunities before us and put in motion what was once only dreamed about.

During his first shift ceremony, Garrett was awarded his Flight Director pin by Milt Heflin, Sirius Flight. Milt's Flight Director Class of 1983 originally designed the emblem, and it has since been tradition for each Flight to wear the symbol in the MCC. The pinning during a first shift represents that a new Flight Director has completed their certification and earned their wings.

The pin features an arrow pointing into space, representing the Flight Director pulling together the Flight Crews and Ground Support Elements (shown as two stars) to support all our Human Spaceflight Programs (the highest star). The orbit and wing symbols match the NASA seal and reflect our role during on-orbit operations and aerodynamic activities. The same arrow is reflected in Kinetic's patch; the bow wave preceding the rocket references the aerodynamic activities of launch and entry, while the orbit of the Moon takes the place of the wing. The Moon is surrounded by a family of orbits, in reference to Garrett's background as a trajectory specialist also the many destinations of Human Spaceflight missions: Earth, Moon, and Mars.

Congratulations to Garrett and his family and friends who supported him in this great milestone!

posted 02-05-2024 06:15 PM               

Welcome Somos Flight!

Diana Trujillo took the shift for the first-time last week as NASA's 108th Flight Director making the 2022 Flight Director class complete. Her team name "Somos Flight" references a community. Somos, meaning "we are," represents who we are as people, what we value, what we have gone through to become, and what we can do together.

"This is the team that will write the next chapter in humanity's history, taking us back to the Moon, to Mars and beyond."

Congratulations Diana!

posted 09-20-2024 09:45 PM               

SpaceFans... today, one of my predecessors (and one of the guys who inspired me to become a Flight Director), hung up his headset. Ed Van Cise (Carbon Flight) completed his last shift, and you can see the clock GC put up to honor him to his last word.

14 years, and almost 243 days!

From Ed Van Cise (Carbon Flight) via X:

After over 9600 hours in the "front room" as an OSO, TITAN, and Flight Director for the International Space Station, Artemis and Boeing, today I served my last shift on console. I'm humbled and honored to have been able to do this for 23 years, 14.5 as certified Flight Director.

My journey's not over yet, though. I'll be working on Gateway — getting the first element on its way to the Moon. In a couple of years, I'll gladly help hand the keys of our next space station over to the next generation of flight controllers and Flight Directors.