ground control

noun

an airport facility that supervises the movement of aircraft and ground vehicles on ramps and taxiways.

ground control

the personnel, radar, computers, etc, on the ground that monitor the progress of aircraft or spacecraft
a system for feeding continuous radio messages to an aircraft pilot to enable him to make a blind landing

First recorded in 1930–35

The whole landing process has to be accomplished automatically, without any possibility for ground control to manually intervene.

Of course, ground control was to be used only if the astronaut failed to ignite the retro-rockets himself.

He was completely right because before he had finished the ground-control door burst open and Meta ran out, circling to the left.

"There is a ship on the radar," Meta said, coming out of the ground-control office and squinting up at the overcast.

April 25, 2024firkin

[fur-kin ]

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