The aft flight deck accommodates additional crew members, known as mission specialists, during launch and landing. Once in orbit, the aft panels and controls focus on the cargo in the payload bay. This area features controls for opening and closing the payload bay doors, as well as joysticks to operate the mechanical arm, or Canadarm. Customized control panels designed for specific missions are installed in the aft panels. Additionally, there are two sets of windows: one on the back wall for monitoring ongoing spacewalks and two overhead windows for observing docking procedures.