Problem Apollo 11 MCC doesn't uplink state vector

[msligo]

Hello,

I'm about 7 hours into an Apollo 11 mission, and for some reason MCC isn't uplinking state vectors to me. I set all the required switches to UP TLM, etc. and I say "Ready for uplink" in the MCC menu. It then says:

Ready for Uplink
CSM State Vector

and then nothing happens. No lights flash on the DSKY at all, and I just sit in that position for ages, waiting for a state vector update.

Does anyone have any idea what might have gone wrong?

I tried to attach my scenario file, but it's too large. If you tell me what section(s) would be useful, I can copy/paste it below.

Many thanks,
msligo

 

[indy91]

The MCC section of the scenario would be useful. Just search for MCC in the scenario file and post everything from the MCC vessel ("MCC: ProjectApollo\MCC" to "END")

And I first checked a SV uplink at about 7 hours after TLI, because I thought you meant that. But 7h GET is weird. At that time, assuming MCC-1 was scrubbed, there should be a PTC REFSMMAT uplink. And then later at 10h GET there will be a CSM SV uplink. But getting a "CSM State Vector" message at 7h GET is strange. Unless you somehow have a TLI time that is set to 0, but I will see that in the section from your scenario.

 

[msligo]

Thanks indy91,

Back at GET 6:50, the checklist says "Copy PTC REFSMMAT," but I also never received a PTC REFSMMAT. The next item is a blue Uplink task, and it was in that task that I didn't receive the state vector.

In this scenario, I've continued a little bit further to see if it would work without the uplink (up to Maneuver Spacecraft to PY 090,000.)

MCC:ProjectApollo\MCC
  STATUS Landed Earth
  POS -95.0883333 29.5580556
  HEADING 270.00
  ALT 2.000
  AROT -0.000 84.912 -60.442
  AFCMODE 7
  CSMNAME Columbia
  LVNAME AS-506-S4BSTG
  LEMNAME Eagle
MCC_BEGIN
  MCC_GT_Enabled 1
  MCC_MT_Enabled 1
  MCC_padAutoShow 1
  MCC_PCOption_Enabled 0
  MCC_NCOption_Enabled 1
  MCC_scrubbed 0
  MCC_MissionType 7
  MCC_MissionPhase 3
  MCC_MissionState 26
  MCC_SubState 6
  MCC_EarthRev 4
  MCC_MoonRev 0
  MCC_AbortMode 0
  MCC_StateTime 4485.580723000010
  MCC_SubStateTime 778.703951500001
  MCC_MoonRevTime 41414.674666599414
  MCC_NCOption_Text Repeat uplink
  MCC_upDescr CSM state vector
MCC_END
RTCC_BEGIN
  RTCC_REFSMMATType 0
  RTCC_P30TIG 0.000000000000
  RTCC_SplLat 0.000000000000
  RTCC_SplLng 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TEI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_EI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TLI 10197.107470734045
  RTCC_LOI 273682.943250238895
  RTCC_SEP 0.000000000000
  RTCC_DOI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_PDI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TLAND 370031.000000000000
  RTCC_LSAlt -3073.263000000000
  RTCC_LSAzi -1.588249619000
  RTCC_LSLat 0.012459711400
  RTCC_LSLng 0.413778779200
  RTCC_LunarLiftoff 0.000000000000
  RTCC_Insertion 0.000000000000
  RTCC_Phasing 0.000000000000
  RTCC_CSI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_CDH 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TPI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_alt_node 111127.107380716596
  RTCC_GET_node 273685.606678132899
  RTCC_lat_node 0.003571269485
  RTCC_lng_node 3.025896015941
  RTCC_TEPHEM 40418.563893287035
  RTCC_PericynthionLatitude 0.004870760200
  RTCC_TIGSTORE1 0.000000000000
  RTCC_DVLVLH 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
  RTCC_R_TLI 6366492.463994843885 2013199.745334111620 368183.199712403177
  RTCC_V_TLI -2023.258947946576 10563.751450833255 1444.803055697556
  RTCC_DVSTORE1 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
  RTCC_StoredREFSMMAT 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
  RTCC_SVSTORE1 None 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
RTCC_END
END

 

[indy91]

I don't see how your current MCC state can even be possible. :rofl:

Did you ever go to the debug menu and messed with the mission states there? Also, continuing on when there was a scheduled uplink that you didn't get is never a good idea, usually things are broken for good. The MCC works on a step-by-step basis, if one step doesn't work it won't continue.

So your current mission state is:

MCC_MissionState 26

That is actually the first state of the sequence when MCC-1 has to be done and was not scrubbed. Did you get another "MCC-1 was scrubbed" message with the attempted SV uplink? Also suspicious, there is a

MCC_upDescr CSM state vector

in your scenario, but normally it should also have the uplink string saved there. That message alone without a "MCC-1 was scrubbed" would even make less sense! When MCC-1 gets calculated to be executed it evaluates the need to actually do that maneuver again, so it's possible that you are getting that sequence. But still doesn't explain why it didn't generate an uplink string.

So not much of this makes any sense unfortunately. What you can try is go to the previous mission state (25) either by editing the scenario or by using the MCC debug menu. Then it evaluates MCC-1 again and hopefully does the rest of the sequence right. If not you probably need to revert to an earlier scenario. I am not seeing any obvious bugs in the MCC logic though, so I really don't know what happened.

 

[msligo]

Haha, I'll bet none of the astronauts ever flew so badly that they broke Mission Control!

I'm pretty sure I've seen MCC-1 was scrubbed a few times, but I can't remember exactly when.

I have gone into the debug options sometimes to try and see how they work, but I was just reading, I didn't modify anything (I think!)

I do have another scenario file from slightly earlier, in the middle of the P23's. Does this make any more sense?

MCC:ProjectApollo\MCC
  STATUS Landed Earth
  POS -95.0883333 29.5580556
  HEADING 270.00
  ALT 2.000
  AROT -0.000 84.912 -60.442
  AFCMODE 7
  CSMNAME Columbia
  LVNAME AS-506-S4BSTG
  LEMNAME Eagle
MCC_BEGIN
  MCC_GT_Enabled 1
  MCC_MT_Enabled 1
  MCC_padAutoShow 1
  MCC_PCOption_Enabled 1
  MCC_NCOption_Enabled 0
  MCC_scrubbed 0
  MCC_MissionType 7
  MCC_MissionPhase 3
  MCC_MissionState 26
  MCC_SubState 2
  MCC_EarthRev 4
  MCC_MoonRev 0
  MCC_AbortMode 0
  MCC_StateTime 1856.380834899996
  MCC_SubStateTime 51.913727700000
  MCC_MoonRevTime 38785.474778498967
  MCC_PCOption_Text Ready for uplink
  MCC_upString V71E21E1501E1E75117E56514E1535E34330E764E3134E67366E45413E1643E7634E752E16520E211E20110EV33E
  MCC_upType 1
  MCC_upDescr CSM state vector
MCC_END
RTCC_BEGIN
  RTCC_REFSMMATType 0
  RTCC_P30TIG 0.000000000000
  RTCC_SplLat 0.000000000000
  RTCC_SplLng 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TEI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_EI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TLI 10197.107470734045
  RTCC_LOI 273682.943250238895
  RTCC_SEP 0.000000000000
  RTCC_DOI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_PDI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TLAND 370031.000000000000
  RTCC_LSAlt -3073.263000000000
  RTCC_LSAzi -1.588249619000
  RTCC_LSLat 0.012459711400
  RTCC_LSLng 0.413778779200
  RTCC_LunarLiftoff 0.000000000000
  RTCC_Insertion 0.000000000000
  RTCC_Phasing 0.000000000000
  RTCC_CSI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_CDH 0.000000000000
  RTCC_TPI 0.000000000000
  RTCC_alt_node 111127.107380716596
  RTCC_GET_node 273685.606678132899
  RTCC_lat_node 0.003571269485
  RTCC_lng_node 3.025896015941
  RTCC_TEPHEM 40418.563893287035
  RTCC_PericynthionLatitude 0.004870760200
  RTCC_TIGSTORE1 0.000000000000
  RTCC_DVLVLH 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
  RTCC_R_TLI 6366492.463994843885 2013199.745334111620 368183.199712403177
  RTCC_V_TLI -2023.258947946576 10563.751450833255 1444.803055697556
  RTCC_DVSTORE1 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
  RTCC_StoredREFSMMAT 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
  RTCC_SVSTORE1 None 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000 0.000000000000
RTCC_END
END

 

[indy91]

Not much more sense. It also has MCC_MissionState 26. The way it works is as follows.

At about 6:05h GET the MCC is cycling to mission state 25 and then is calculating MCC-1, just to see if that maneuver needs to be done or not. If MCC-1 was scrubbed it waits there for about 6:45h GET and goes to mission state 27 and should uplink the PTC REFSMMAT and then later at 10h GET a CSM state vector. If MCC-1 was not scrubbed the MCC waits for 10h GET and then cycles to mission state 26, where it calculates the final MCC-1 solution, with Maneuver PAD and uplinks. In mission state 26 it also checks again if MCC-1 needs to be done, in which case it only does a state vector uplink.

So if you got a "MCC-1 was scrubbed" in the first place, at about 6:05h GET, then you should never have gotten mission state 26. See why I am confused? Actually, you are not the first one who got a case where the MCC "magically" goes to the next mission state. Because that is probably what happened. MCC was in mission state 25, just waiting, and something made it go to the next higher mission state. I have no idea what would trigger that though. Orbiter taking keyboard inputs while being tabbed out or something? No, I really have no idea.

As I said before, going back to mission state 25 in one of the described ways might fix the issue. You might get a MCC-1 evaluation, a PTC REFSMMAT uplink and a CSM state vector uplink back to back to back, but that is ok.

 

[msligo]

Ahh, I know what happened. In the debug menu I remember pressing Inc state or Dec state or something. I thought it only displayed data, I didn't realise it would actually modify my state.

I tried Dec State this time, and also Reset State, and I think it's working now. I'll let you know how it goes.