ground control
4
4.2
- noun
- /ɡraʊnd kənˈtroʊl/
:
control de tierra
- The pilot reported to ground control that they were ready for landing after completing all safety checks.
- ground control station
- contact with ground control
- ground control system
Examples
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What kind of ground control is required?
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We're informed by ground control that all systems are still green, but we're on hold due to a technical problem.
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Ground control to LM22, do you copy?
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Ground control, ready for rollout.
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This is ground control.
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You need ground control.
Fiction book (1996) -
Turns out, on every space mission, there is conflict between the crew up in space and ground control down on Earth, and it can really derail the mission.
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Ground control at JPL was very worried, but I eventually calmed down and was able to let JPL know that I was fine.
Blog text (1) -
The capsule, named Stratos, is equipped with 15 high-tech cameras so ground control can monitor Felix and the voyage.
Blog text (7) -
If something like that happened on the shuttle, ground control would probably order the crew to conserve power and wait for a rescue—except they still couldn't launch a second shuttle within a month of the first one.
Fiction book (1996)
Synonyms
1
4.2
People on the ground who guide aircraft by radio while they fly
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning ('team/system that directs from the ground') is directly derivable from combining 'ground' (on the earth/at surface) with 'control' (ability to direct), indicating a control function located on the ground. This compositional compound is cross-linguistically and contextually transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can plausibly infer the aviation-related sense of ground-based guidance and communication.
Etymology
Ground control comes from the people on the ground who control a plane's path by radio, guiding pilots toward the runway when they cannot see well. That's why today ground control means 'the team that talks with pilots and guides planes during landing'.