Iicaem Paper

8/13/2019 Iicaem Paper

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Im very much pleased to be able to share with you our work and observation . Im Jae-

Gang Jang, a doctoral student studying sociology at University Bielefeld, Germany.

The co-presenter is Mr. Jrg Bergman, the moderator of this session and faculty of

department of sociology, University Bielefeld. This presentation bases on a part of my

dissertation project being strived under his supervision.

The radio-channel, through which the communications between Mission Control on

the Earth and Astronauts on the Moon are fulfilled, was a part of more extensive and

complex communication network used in manned space flight. Toda ys presentation

is among others devoted to the communication between astronauts on the Moon and

CapCom in the Mission Control Center on the earth through the so called Air-to-

Ground Loop

Let me introduce some organizational and technical features of it.

Among the workers in Mission Control Center, only CamCom is allowed to speak with

Astronauts during ordinary communication. It can be said that the CapCom serves as

a kind of animator in Goffmanian sense . That is to say, Misson -Participants

working distributed in- and outside Mission Control Center can talk to astronauts only

through the mouth of the CapCom.

The communication system used by these communicants had two configurations.These are Push-to-Talk (PTT) and Voice-Operated-Switching (VOX) mode respectively.

CapCom uses Push-to-Talk mode only. When he speaks to astronauts, he operates a

switch like walky-talky. This switch produces short beep tons named Quindar Tons

each time it is pushed and released. Quindar Tons were used for activating and

deactivating the transmission facilities of relay-stations scattered on the Earth. These

tons are marked in our transcripts with (q). Astronauts use Push-to-Talk Mode as

well but their system did nt produce Quindar-Tons. VOX mode is used exclusively by

astronauts when they cant use their han ds for operating switch. For example they usethis communication mode during Extra-Vehicular-Activities (EVA).

During early days of manned spaceflight the radio-communication through the Air-to-

Ground Loop was recorded from ignition of spacecrafts to the landing. Recording of

air-to-ground loop is made mainly on the Earth. Even though the spacecrafts and

onboard recorders, the capacity was very limited. These audio-tapes made in Mission

Control Center were used on-site in Mission Control Center for real-time mission

evaluation. These Audio-tapes were transcribed verbatim on site by typists shortly

after audio tapes became available. The transcripts were released to press

announcement as well. You can see here a small segment of these transcripts.


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There is another extensive archive which deals with communication through air-to-

ground loop. Around the middle of 1990s, a web based platform named Apollo Lunar

Surface Journal (ALSJ) was launched as part of the NASAs o ral history project.

Preparing this website on the basis of original NASA audio tapes and transcripts,

extensive interviews with Apollo astronauts were accompanied. What you have in

handout (on page 2) is a screen shot of this website.

Last but not least, one of the most important features of this air-to-ground loop was

transmission-delay. Due to the distance between the Moon and the Earth, there is 2.5

seconds round trip-transmission-delay. For convenience, we could imagine a very

simple question-answer sequence. Suppose that a question of an astronaut is

answered by a CapCom promptly and this sequence is tape recorded in the MOCR, the

question was actually spoken by astronauts 1.25 seconds earlier and they cannothear the answer of CapCom until 1.25 seconds later. That is to say, what is

experienced by CapCom in the MOCR as a prompt question-answer adjacency pair is

experienced by astronauts as one with 2.5 pause. But only with records made in

MOCR, it is not easy to conceive, how the sequences will be experienced by

astronauts on t he Moon and its orbit. So we ventur ed to reconstruct turn-taking

organization on the Moon on the basis of digitalized NASA audio tapes which is

available in the ALSJ.

Let me show you the processing procedure.

First, a digitalized original audio-record is downloaded from the ALSJ and imported to

an audio-processing program. Sequences interested are selected and sorted out for

reconstruction-process.

Second, turns spoken by CapCom are sorted out by muting turns spoken by

astronauts . Because we couldnt get double-track records which register up and down

channel separately, it was sometimes very hard to divide overlapped voices clearly.Where separation is not easy to attain and for this reason results are not satisfactory,

the original voice is erased completely and replaced by voice of one of presenters.

This process is repeated in order to filter turns of astronauts. Through this process,

two tracks are prepared for further processing.

The next step is combining these two filtered tracks. Considering the consequences of

transmission-delay on turn-displacement, the turns spoken by astronauts are pushed

1.25 seconds forward and those spoken by CapCom are moved 1.25 seconds

backward. Now you get a reconstructed audio segment which enable us to infer more


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or less accurately, how astronauts heard and spoke on the Moon. On the basis of this

reconstructed audio segments transcripts were produced.

From now on three episodes selected will be examined. For convenience I will use

present tense when I describe and comment on activities of people involved.

Episode 1: Turns Disembedded

In transcript, LMP is an abbreviation of Lunar Module Pilot, CapCom is as mentioned

Capsule Communicator, and CDR is Commander.

In this scene two astronauts are doing geological work using penetrometers

measuring strength of soil. Now the Lunar Module Pilot (LMP) has just finished a test

and prepares another test. Without addressing a recipient explicitly and somewhat

monologically the LMP mentions about the location of the test, and indexing number,

and what he is going to do next.(Line 14) To this mention of LMP, the CapCom

bestows positive comment ( Beautiful in line 15). And subsequently the CapCom

turns to CDR and requires him to check whether the film of the camera was run out, if

he is now at Lunar Rover.

Here, some background information must be given about cameras carried to the Moon.

Many cameras were used in Extra Vehicular Activities. Each Astronaut carried camera

attached on chest of their space suits. And a Data Aquisition Camera (DAC) was

mounted on Lunar Rover. These cameras were all cameras filled with film-magazine.

Now, lets take a look at how this request of the CapCom is formulated. The CapCom

says in line 15, 16 you might check your film mag if youre back at the rover now .

Considering there were more than one camera with film magazine, it could be

ambiguous, which film magazine the CapCom means with the exp ression of your film

mag . The pr onoun your could be used in En glish either as genitive of singular you

or as that of plural you . That is to say your film mag can be understood as either a

film magazine of the CDRs camera or a film magazine of DAC on astronauts side .

Even though there was another hint, with which one can infer that the camera has to

do with LRV (Line 16: If youre back at the rover now), i t is not clear yet, which film

magazine it might be. This expression is indexical and can be understood differently

according to situations.

This turn of CapCom is followed by 2.5 seconds silence. (Line 18) As it is well known

to students of human interaction, such silences after request , in other words the

first pair part of an adjacency pair, are inference rich. As a sequentially relevantsecond pair part for request one can expect among others an affirmation lik e yes


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sir as preferred second pair part. Considering this, the 2.5 seconds silence in line 18

could be understood as hesitation of recipient due to ambiguity of CapComs request .

Furthermore, in technically mediated communication situation like this, even the

possibility of network breakdown cannot be totally excluded from consideration.

Anyhow 2.5 seconds later, not getting a second pair part from the Commander, the

CapCom speaks further. The CapCom tries to repair a possible ambiguity of his

indexical expression and avoid misunderstanding by mentioning the name of camera,

DAC. At this moment the CDR abruptly breaks in saying no, it wouldn t have run

out by now Joe. To this report, the CapCom gives no affirmation. After 2 seconds

silence, the CDR says this time all of sudden thats what Im saying. It is unclear

which turn this turn of Commander can be related to. Sequentially this turn seems to

be out of the blue.

Lets take a lo ok at the turn-taking organization for this segment on the Moon.

First, the affirmation Roger of the CapCom in line 5 is on earth sequentially related

to the turn of L MP Im bottomed up . Due to transmission-delay it is placed in

different sequential environment on the Moon. It is now placed as if it was related to

LMPs turn on line 3,4 and even this is overlapped by LMPs turn in line 6 which is

addressed to CDR (line 4 dave) . It would be heard strange if someone, lets say a

person A , report something addressing a pe rson B but gets affirmation from C

who is not addressed.

Next, lets take a look at line 20, on the line 20 after having been requested by the

CapCom to check film magazine, the CDR replies promptly without hesitation ( no, it

wouldnt have run out by now Joe ). Guessing from this prompt answer to the request

of information, it seems that the CDR has confidence that he understands which

camera the CapCom asked to check and at the same time he show, through this turn,

how he understood the request of CapCom. in his formulation, the camera is denotedwith a pronoun it whose reference is ambiguous as well. And then, almost latched,

the CDR hears from the CapCom an identification of the camera by naming it ( and Im

talking about the DAC ). (line 21) As you know this reformulation of the camera was

made on the Earth, in situation in which the CapCom got no answers after his request

for about 2.5 seconds. To the CapCom in the Mission Control Center the

reformulation is necessary step to prevent or repair possible misunderstanding. But it

becomes a kind of redundant reiteration for the CDR on the Moon, because it is placed

after the proper answer of the CDR (line21). Actually the CDR react to it with thatswhat Im saying (line 23) perhaps without knowing that the CapCom on the Earth


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has said this turn (Im talking about the DAC) in different sequential environment, in

which the CapCom didnt hear his answer no. it wouldnt have run out by now Joe

yet .

EPISODE 2: Communication disorder-whose responsibility?

In this scene two astronauts are gathering rocks together. The Commander inspects

and describes the appearance of the rock that they are sampling. When the inspection

and description of a rock seem to be finished and the commander instruct the Lunar

module pilot to look something, at line 17, the CapCom addressed the Commander

and require (or remind) him to give a bag number which the sampled rock will be put

in. (line 17) During Apollo Lunar Landing Missions, while sampling, the astronauts put

the samples in numbered bags they were carrying with and informed Houston

numbers of bags every time they filled one.

As the CapCom started his turn at line 17, a voice from astronaut was arrived all of

sudden and clipped with the Quindar Ton triggered by the CapCom. (line 18) Even

though the Commander seems to have mentioned a bag number (line 19) these are not

easy to discern. After 2 seconds silence the commander seems to move to another

location where another sample might be gathered next. (line 21-23) After 2 seconds

have passed the CapCom reminds this time the LMP (Jim) that Houston are waiting

for report of the bag number. This second request is cut in by the commander saying

to the LMP. (line 26-27) After 1.5 seconds the commander and the LMP starts to speak

simultaneously. The Commander says that they gave the bag number, while the LMP

reports the bag number required by CapCom. And subsequently, almost immediately,

the commander says with somewhat anger in his voice that they have given the

number but the CapCom blocked their report of the bag number. Without apologizing

or any other comments on it, the CapCom answers it with a very short gratitude

thank you.

Even when we take the fact into consideration that there was at line 17-18 almost

simultaneous start of turns, it is uncertain whether the CapCom deserves to be

accused by the Commander for his blocking astrona uts turn (report of bag number).

To understand in what sequential context the Commander accuses the CapCom, lets

take a look at how turns are organized on the Moon. With the help of reconstructed

version it can be roughly estimated where the report of the bag number is given by

astronauts. At line 17-18 the commander gives the bag number. And the request of the

CapCom is heard immediately after this report, as though the CapCom mishears or

disregards (ignores) the report of the commander due to some reasons which


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astronauts may not know exactly. It can be even said that it is rather the Commander

who is mishearing or disregarding the CapComs request of a bag number.

Without answering to the request, 2 seconds later, the Commander shows interest in

possible next sample, (line 21-25) which is followed by the second time request ofthe CapCom which could be heard as pressing or urging an answer. To this, after

short silence the astronauts react simultaneously but in different fashions. The

Commander, who gave bag number before it was requested, says that they have given

the CapCom the information. And the LMP, who is newly addressed by the CapCom

(line 26), gives the bag number without any further comments on the CapComs

doubled, seemingly redundant, and not clearly understandable requests.

CONCLUDING REMARK

As clarified at the beginning, audio-records and transcripts of NASA produced

for special (institutional) usage couldnt satisfy our research interest in their

original forms. Audio-Data recorded in the MOCR and verbatim transcripts of

them were produced for the purpose of conserving what was done . In this

sense the shape of the NASA-audio data and original NASA transcripts could

be treated not just as bad (or flawed) data for researcher like us, but also in

itself as object of analysis, as late Harold Garfinkel hinted in his work Goodorganizational reason for bad clinic records . But to develop this implication

further is beyond scope of this presentation.

To fulfill research interest of the presenters, these transcripts had to be

reworked in accordance with conversation analytic transcription conventions,

which make it possible to access , how tasks were accomplished by

communicative practices of misson-participants on earth and on the moon.

Considering transmission-delay, one of the most unique features of this

communication network, and trying to see interactional phenomena from the

astronauts point of view, a kind of reconstruction of their sequential

environment was exercised.

With the help of this reconstruction, it was possible to observe that

interactional disorders occurred in Air -to- Ground Loop were occurred not by

breaching of interaction-organizational-rule and machineries, but rather

generated by orienting to the selfsame rules and machineries which make


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possible ordered interactions in face-to-face interaction or interaction mediated

by audio-communication media without transmission-delay.

In other words, t he very supposition of reciprocity of perspective (Schtz) ,

which is a bedrock of intersubjective understanding and coordination of

activities, becomes in some cases rather source of irritation. The natura l

attitude of interlocutors do es not work in the interaction via communication

media with transmission-delay. It seems difficult to take the perspective of

others on the other side of communication network in order to align their

communicative works to them. To use the terminology of Alfred Schtz one

more time, the supposition and accomplishment of mutual vivid reality

(Schtz 1945 p.543) is not easy task in this interaction environment.

As we glimpsed with help of two episodes, the transmission-delay

continuously impedes the flow of interaction and recurrently produces

phenomena of disorder in the turn-taking and sequential organization. Due to

the signal delay astronauts as well as CapCom face the problem that

utterances occur "out of context". Responses to utterances are based on an

understanding of how the others' activities are heard here without knowing

their interactional context down/up 'there'. Turns taken by interlocutors on

each side are embedded (located) in different sequential environment.

An ongoing interaction is held up, initiations of interactions don't get any

sequentially relevant reaction, and r epair attempts have to cope with the very

same delay condition and are cumbersome, which may account for the fact

that instances of interactional disorder are not normalized promptly and easilyby using the methods and techniques which we are accustomed to and rely on

to prevent, detour and repair interactional disorders in our everyday life

without transmission delay.

Given that the turn-taking organization is a crucial machinery that secures

intersubjective understanding, the disorderliness caused by the transmission

delay may seriously interfere with the smooth, timely and successful fulfillmentof minutely planed work. It is a little astonishing that there was no systematic


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training for astronauts during early manned space flight which enable them to

cope with this hostile environment.

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