Landing Signal Officer

Interior view of the port LSO station aboard Galactica (TRS: "Final Cut").

The Landing Signal Officer (LSO) is the officer who is responsible for all flight operations on the flight decks of battlestars and other military vessels. This includes the landing of all vessels, from Vipers and Raptors, to small liners such as Colonial One and Gemenon Traveler, as well as the operation of the launch tubes (TRS: Miniseries, "Final Cut", "Flight of the Phoenix").

Notes

• Judging from the various duties carried out by Captain Aaron Kelly as LSO, the job in the Colonial Fleet is much more expansive than the title implies. In contemporary U.S. naval aviation, he would be a combined LSO, "shooter" (catapult officer) and "Air Boss" (flight deck operations manager).
• A slogan on a duty roster in the pilots' ready room aboard the battlestar Galactica, reads "Dominate the ball - Be the ball - There is no life without the LSO" (TRS: "Six of One").

Additional Images

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  The LSO station seen from the outside in the landing bay.

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  Close-up of the glideslope indicator of the LSO station.

See Also

• Hands-on approach, for details on the landing procedure
• List of terms in the Re-imagined Series

Re-imagined Series definition: officer responsible for flight operations of either a battlestar or battlestar group

Re-imagined Series definition: officer responsible for flight operations of either a battlestar or battlestar group

Re-imagined Series definition: slang for launch officer, responsible for deployment of craft from a battlestar (TRS: "Miniseries, Night 1")

Re-imagined Series definition: visual indicator used in a battlestar's Instrument Landing System during a hands-on approach (TRS: "Miniseries", "Act of Contrition", "Final Cut", "Black Market")