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Payload Operations and Integration Center
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<p>The Payload Operations and Integration Center (POIC), part of the Huntsville Operations Support Center (HOSC), <a href="/facts/Call_sign/k3Y1upDl">callsign</a> Huntsville, or the Payload Operations Center, is a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (<a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a>) facility located at the <a href="/facts/Marshall_Space_Flight_Center/Q5XqseqT">Marshall Space Flight Center</a> in <a href="/facts/Huntsville,_Alabama/Rdu00gpd">Huntsville, Alabama</a>. It serves as headquarters for science operations across multiple NASA programs, including the <a href="/facts/International_Space_Station/VNPUBz9m">International Space Station</a> (ISS) and the <a href="/facts/Artemis_program/QHBrKFI8">Artemis program</a>, working in conjunction with other mission control centers. The POIC links Earth-bound researchers and developers from around the world with their experiments and astronauts on various missions. </p><p>For the ISS, the POIC works in conjunction with the ISS Mission Control Center in <a href="/facts/Houston,_Texas/1v8AwQUN">Houston, Texas</a>. Its responsibilities include facilitating scientific research conducted on the station. For the Artemis program, the POIC supports science payloads and experiments on <a href="/facts/Orion_(spacecraft)/nh8VQRpD">Orion</a>, <a href="/facts/Human_Landing_System/QHBrKFI8">HLS</a>, <a href="/facts/Lunar_Gateway/XExxjawm">Gateway</a>, the lunar surface, and other deep space missions. </p><p>The everyday tasks performed at the center during the life of the ISS include: </p> <ul><li>Integrating research requirements</li> <li>Planning science missions</li> <li>Ensuring the safe execution of research</li> <li>Integrating the crew and ground team training, and research mission timelines</li> <li>Managing use of space station payload resources</li> <li>Handling science communications with the crew</li> <li>Managing command and data transmissions to and from the orbiting research center</li></ul> <p>The ISS Payload Operations Center is staffed around the clock by three shifts of flight controllers. </p>