United Launch Alliance (ULA) is the world’s most experienced space launch service provider, with more than a century of combined aeronautics heritage and the successful launch of more than 135 missions to orbit. Recently, a transition to high-definition cameras across the launch site facilities required an upgrade to the installation at their Denver Operations Support Center (DOSC).
Xcite Audiovisuals upgraded the application, including the signal processing for the two 1x3 videowalls that provide the launch engineers with video and telemetry capabilities. Sources range from sensor and camera feeds originating at different launch facilities to calculations and data pulled from ULA computers and servers. To support both videowalls, an Extron XTP II CrossPoint 6400 64x64 modular matrix switcher feeds all source signals to one Extron Quantum Ultra 610 videowall processor.
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“ULA’s videowalls provide high-quality, mission-critical content to a team of engineers relying on unwavering accuracy to make critical go, no-go decisions,” said Ashley P. Walker, lead telemetry engineer at United Launch Alliance. “Extron has more than demonstrated the durability of its products. We have confidence that the system can run for the duration and be ready to support us on launch day.”
Quantum Ultra enables DOSC engineers to simultaneously view native resolution or scaled video feeds and data for launch monitoring and analysis. All sources are available for windowing on one or both videowalls. A few of the videowall processor’s many features that made it well suited for use within the DOSC include a configurable card frame, frame-locked outputs for image synchronization, and a 400Gbps HyperLane video bus that delivers the required real-time performance. It is also JITC certified for use in secure government environments. For ULA, Quantum Ultra provided the best combination of presentation capabilities, proven reliability, upgradeability, and cost of ownership.
