The flight deck is the main centre of operations in the Shuttle. The panels of the cockpit are lined with over 700 buttons, dials, and switches that are used to fly the vehicle. They control and monitor its systems, and handle whatever payloads are aboard.

There are four seats on the flight deck: the commanderÕs seat is front left, while the pilot's seat is front right. The mission specialist sits behind the pilot, while the payload specialist is behind the commander. Extra crew members must secure themselves on the mid-deck level during take-off.