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Who drives the shuttle when the astronauts are asleep?

April 26, 2017asleep astronauts drives Shuttle

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Who drives the shuttle when the astronauts are asleep?

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ANSWER from Jerry P. Jason & James B. McDede on April 7, 1997: The shuttle in effect has cruise control called the DAP (Digital Auto Pilot). When on orbit, the shuttle gets attitude information from IMU’s (Inertial Measurement Units). Attitude is different from altitude. Attitude is the orientation of the shuttle. The GPC (General Purpose Computer) uses the IMU information to calculate when the shuttle needs to fire RCS (Reaction Control System) Jets. The RCS jets firing adjusts the attitude of the shuttle. The GPC monitors and maintains the shuttle attitude continuously, except when the crew takes manual control. Return to top.