Host Troubleshooting

Start with the symptom participants can see, then check Studio.

The Space Range button stays red

  1. Open Space Range Settings
  2. confirm the MQTT server and port
  3. confirm the network can reach the broker
  4. select Connect Client again
  5. check Studio logs for a connection error

Do not press Play while Studio is disconnected. The simulation may advance while nobody can join.

Participants cannot find the session

Check:

  • the Space Range button is green
  • the session name in Studio exactly matches what you sent
  • participants are using the current Operator
  • participants are connected to the same environment or broker
  • a randomized session name did not change after you shared it

Ask one participant to refresh Operator and search again.

A team access code is rejected

Open the team’s entry in Space Range Settings.

Confirm the participant is using:

  • the team Password, not the numeric ID
  • the correct team
  • the correct session
  • all six characters with no spaces

If you change the password while connected, reconnect and test it before distributing the new value.

A team joins but has no spacecraft

Check that:

  • the team is enabled
  • its collection points to an existing asset collection
  • the scenario loaded without asset errors
  • the .zen file and any loaded scenario JSON belong to the same exercise

This is normally a scenario configuration problem, not an Operator problem.

The brief is empty

  1. open the brief section in Space Range Settings
  2. load the supplied Markdown file if needed
  3. confirm the brief contains text
  4. reconnect Space Range so the current brief is published
  5. refresh the Brief panel in Operator or Admin

If the scenario uses JSON, also check metadata.brief.

Questions do not appear

Check that:

  • at least one question exists
  • every question uses a supported type
  • the question loaded without a parse error
  • Operator joined after the current scenario was loaded

Supported types are text, number, select, and checkbox.

An event did not fire

Check:

  • Enabled is on
  • Studio reached the event’s simulation Time
  • the event targets a valid asset or component
  • the event Data uses supported values
  • the simulation was not reset before the trigger

Review Event Timeline and Events in Operator Admin, then inspect Studio logs.

The simulation is running too fast or too slowly

Confirm the selected timeline multiplier.

If the requested speed cannot be maintained, lower it. If events arrived too early in real time, pause, explain the situation, and decide whether to continue or reset.

Admin will not connect

Confirm:

  • Studio is connected
  • the session name is correct
  • you are using the Admin Password, not a team password
  • you opened operator.zendir.io/admin

Do not solve an Admin login problem by sharing team credentials in a public channel.

Participants lose telemetry

The range may still be healthy. Ask the team to check its link status, frequency, key, and ground station access using Operator Troubleshooting.

Use Admin Telemetry and Map to see whether the issue affects one team or everyone.

Mission Assistant does not answer

Mission Assistant in Operator is served by Studio. The API key lives in Studio Preferences on the host, not in the browser.

  1. Open the AI Chat Panel in Studio and confirm a token is set for the selected provider
  2. Send a test prompt in Studio. If Studio shows Please add a valid AI API token to the Studio Preferences., Mission Assistant will fail for every team
  3. Open the Conversation overlay during the session. Operator chats appear there as separate threads

Operators cannot fix a missing token themselves.

Last resort

Before resetting:

  1. pause Studio
  2. record the simulation time
  3. capture the Studio error and Admin state
  4. decide whether participant progress can be preserved

Reset only when continuing from the current state is not practical. A reset clears the run.