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ZL2VAL > SCIENC 09.10.03 16:30l 104 Lines 4450 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: ISS Science op's 10/01/03
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To : SCIENC@WW
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From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : SCIENC@WW
Marshall News
For release: 10/01/03
Release #: 03-176
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) control
center for all science experiments on board the International Space
Station is modernizing its information technology while saving the
agency millions of dollars.
From the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center in Huntsville, Ala., scientists and engineers operate all the
U.S. experiments located 240 miles above Earth on the Space Station.
For more than two years, they have used complex computer systems and
software to communicate with experiments and other equipment - 24
hours a day, seven days a week.
The Ground Systems Department - part of the Flight Projects
Directorate at the Marshall Center - is replacing outdated computer
platforms, servers, networks and software with less expensive, more
robust systems that incorporate the best 21st century technology.
Every day these systems monitor and store several billion bits of
data from the Space Station, while simultaneously handling many
time-critical commands to Space Station equipment, and serving a
diverse community of research scientists located around the globe.
"We are well along on a two-year series of cost-saving initiatives,"
said Ann McNair, manager of the Ground Systems Department. "Our
controllers, who watch over Space Station science experiments on a
daily basis, don't really see these behind-the-scenes changes, which
is as it should be. But the system today is more reliable, more
maintainable and more economical."
The Ground Systems Department is making many of these changes
through the Utilization and Mission Support contract with Lockheed
Martin Space Operations Co., Huntsville, Ala. According to McNair,
the team is about halfway through a series of planned upgrades that
include:
* Migrating server platforms from high-priced servers to
inexpensive servers running an open-source operating system;
* Migrating client platforms from expensive workstations to
low-price personal computers;
* Replacing a physically scattered, difficult-to-manage data
storage system with a centralized Network Attached
Storage/Storage Area Network approach;
* Replacing expensive 48-channel custom voice sets with Voice
over Internet Protocol, available directly from a remote
user's personal computer;
* Creating a mature, efficient software baseline through close
interaction with the users and system administrators;
* Migrating from end-of-life Fiber Distributed Data Interface
Local Area Networks to high-speed switched networks;
* Increasing system availability by using high availability
clusters that are virtually unaffected by individual equipment
failures;
* Using multiple layers of rigorous security measures, including
Virtual Private Networks, for all outside users to minimize
system vulnerability; and
* Establishing a funding plan based on continuous technology
updates rather than large, wholesale technology replacements.
The result of these changes will be a robust, secure,
high-performance information technology system that is fully
supported by industry vendors, takes advantage of modern computing
technologies, and costs a fraction of the current system. This new
system will improve NASA's ability to collect and disseminate the
scientific information from the International Space Station.
==============================
73 de Alan
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Brain Cramps
~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of
your life,"
- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become Spokesperson for federal
anti-smoking campaign.
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