babysitting a multi-million-dollar toddler in orbit that can never, ever come home for a nap.
means the ongoing work of commanding, tracking, and maintaining a satellite after launch, so it stays healthy, pointed correctly, and where it belongs.
from grew out of cold war tracking networks built to watch sputnik in 1957, then formalized as nasa and the military built dedicated control centers to fly growing fleets of spacecraft.
nasa jpl mission control — flies voyager probes still responding after 47 years
spacex starlink ops — manages thousands of satellites with automated collision avoidance
esa esoc darmstadt — controls rosetta comet landing and mars express from germany
iss mission control houston — coordinates station keeping and crew safety around the clock