Providing a high-fidelity, interactive simulation to train the astronaut flight crew, mission operations personnel, and hundreds of scientists located around the world requires a well-defined plan, a clearly documented process, relentless preparation, and a collaborative team approach. The Joint Integrated Simulation (JIS) is the culmination of a series of Spacelab mission simulations, each building upon the last in complexity and fidelity. As the dress rehearsal for a mission, it is critical that JISs maintain a flightlike environment while training teams, which are located in different facilities at multiple sites and which represent two NASA centers with different training objectives, introduce unexpected flight scenarios and malfunctions to simulation participants.

After describing the JIS environment, this paper will explore the purpose, structure, and development of planning tools that ensure seamless JIS execution: the JIS Simulation Working Group, Joint Operations Handbook, the integrated JIS simulation script, the pre-JIS briefing, and the Facility Interface Checkout. Techniques for tailoring these elements to the unique characteristics of the mission and the objectives of the simulation will be addressed. Developing these tools results in a well-defined JIS plan as well as a collaborative team environment, in which each member is confident that communication strategies are clear, facilities are ready, and training objectives can be met.