FLIGHT CONTROL (CONN)

	The Flight Control console, often referred to as Conn, is responsible 
for the actual piloting and navigation of the spacecraft. Although these are 
heavily automated functions, their criticality demands a human officer to 
oversee these operations at all times. The Flight Control Officer (also referred 
to as Conn) receives instructions directly from the Commanding Officer.
¥Manual flight operations. The actual execution of flight instructions is 
generally left to computer control, but Conn has the option of exercising 
manual control over helm and navigational functions. In full manual mode, 
Conn can actually steer the ship under keypad control.
¥Reaction control system (RCS). Although the actual vector and sequence 
control of the system is normally automated, Conn has the option of manually 
commanding the RCS system or individual thrusters.
	Conn also serves as a liaison to the Engineering department in that 
he/she is responsible for monitoring propulsion system status and providing 
system status reports to the commanding officer in the absence of an 
engineering officerÕs presence on the bridge.
¥Navigational references/course plotting. The Flight Control console displays 
readings from navigational and tactical sensors, overlaying them on current 
positional and course projections. Conn has the option of accessing data 
feeds from secondary navigation and science sensors for verification of 
primary sensor data. Such cross-checks are automatically performed at 
each change-of-shift and upon activation of Alert status.  Æ