mission commander
Crew's top authority
Mission commander is the person in charge of a specific operation, typically in military, space, or aviation contexts.
In spaceflight, the mission commander holds ultimate authority over the crew and spacecraft: The mission commander made the call to abort the landing.
The role combines leadership responsibility with technical expertise, distinct from ground-based flight directors or program managers.
- astronautSpacecraft crew member
- captainOne who commands
- NASAFederal space exploration bureau
- spacecraftVehicle for outer space
- space shuttleReusable crewed orbital vehicle
pilot · flight suit · launch · launch pad · go for launch · orbit · spacewalk · Houston · cockpit · leadership · Apollo · lunar module · shuttle · control · flight · Neil Armstrong · rank · helmet
- astronautsastronaut, cosmonaut, taikonaut, cosmonauts, spaceman
- aviation jobspilot, airline pilot, copilot, co-pilot, captain
- Air Force Rolesairman, colonel, general, major, lieutenant
- aircrew rolespilot, copilot, captain, first officer, flight engineer
- space jobsastronaut, cosmonaut, taikonaut, flight director, flight engineer
- Air Force Ranksairman, staff sergeant, master sergeant, second lieutenant, first lieutenant
mission commandersubordinate
One lower in rank
enlisted personnel · junior officer · private · cadet · trainee
mission commanderflight engineer
Aircrew systems monitor
second-in-command · copilot · support staff · ground crew · follower
mission, commander, missions, missionary, missionaries, command, commands, commanded, commanding