KSC’s Mobile Mission Control Center (MMCC) left Kennedy Space Center for its cross continent trip to Pavilion Lake on Friday, June 26th. It will arrive at the lake on July 4th, along with the KSC communications team including myself, Bill Dearing, and Marc Seibert.
On board the trailer is all of the communications and logistics gear to support the Pavilion Lake project this year. If you have been to the lake before, you know that its location does not lend itself to good communication. There is no cell phone coverage (nearest is 30-45 minute drive away), and no Starbucks on every corner for free Wi-Fi access.
KSC's Mobile Mission Control Center
The KSC communications team will be changing all of that. We will be setting up a wireless hot spot zone that will cover the entire lake, including voice communications with the submarines. The test team should be able to be online sending reports over the internet and talking to other scientists and researchers from around the world over many of the VoIP phone circuits we are bringing to the lake.
The past couple of weeks have been filled with last minute testing of gear, packing the MMCC trailer, as well as some extra juggling around of the trailer for a open house at the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) launch party in the rocket garden at the KSC Visitor Center. The MMCC trailer is beginning the 2009 NASA Analog season with its trip to Pavilion Lake. After PLRP, it will leave for Johnson Space Center in Texas to support dry-run activities in preparation for the September Desert Rats outing at the Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona.
I’m looking forward to visiting Pavilion Lake for my first field season, and especially excited to lend support to the DeepWorker submersible operations. By enabling better communication, the team will be able to achieve more science goals while at the lake than was ever possible in the past.
~Mike Downs
