Compaq Alpha Workstations Support NASA’s Mission Critical Projects
Flight controllers working on the Space
Shuttle and International Space Station projects at Johnson Space Center (JSC)
will soon have new high-tech tools to help them support astronauts and
cosmonauts in space.
And, it will take almost 500 custom-configured computer
workstations to do the job.
Under a $4.7 million contract awarded by Lockheed Martin, Compaq is
supplying approximately 475 advanced Tru64 UNIX-based computers — XP900 and
XP-1000 Alpha workstations and about 635 high-end P1210 color monitors.
Lockheed Martin is using the workstations to upgrade the Mission Control
Centers for both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station under its
Consolidated Space Operations Contract (CSOC) with NASA.
The color monitors
and workstations will be used to monitor and control both ISS and shuttle
flights.
“Compaq has taken a leadership position in delivering state-of-the-art
technologies that are powering many of the world’s leading initiatives, from
mapping the human genome to supporting mission-critical operations for NASA’s
Space Shuttle and International Space Station projects,” said Jerry Earle,
vice president for Compaq’s Central Region.
“This agreement with Lockheed
Martin and NASA demonstrates how we are creating innovative products that help
our customers achieve their business goals more efficiently and effectively.”
“When Lockheed Martin developed these control centers for NASA we used
commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products such as Compaq’s Alpha workstations
and integrated them into a unique, high-performing system for our customer,”
said Jay F. Honeycutt, president, Lockheed Martin Space Operations.
“This approach resulted in significant development and operating savings
for NASA.
Now, we have another benefit to the COTS approach, because we can
go out into the commercial market to upgrade the systems, providing NASA with
a significant increase in functionality at a fairly modest cost,” he said.
Some of the Alpha workstations currently in use in the control centers
date back to 1993.
Since that time, a lot of new software has been added to
the systems to automate many new tasks, said Jack Knight, chief of NASA’s
Advanced Operations and Development Division at JSC.
All of these new tasks
have put a strain on the old systems.
While they can still do the job, their
age is showing — with sluggish performance and longer processing times.
The
new Compaq workstations will deliver almost 1000 times the processing power
and use less power to boot.
Lockheed Martin is capitalizing the new workstations.
As part of its CSOC
contract with NASA, the company assumed responsibility to replace non-
maintainable NASA equipment.
Installation of the Compaq workstations will be
accomplished in four phases on an accelerated schedule.
In the first phase,
which began in late March, 129 workstations will be installed.
The entire
upgrade is expected to be completed by September 2001.
About Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation, a Fortune Global 100 company, is
a leading global provider of technology and solutions.
Compaq designs,
develops, manufactures, and markets hardware, software, solutions, and
services, including industry-leading enterprise computing solutions, fault-
tolerant business-critical solutions, and communications products, commercial
desktop and portable products, and consumer PCs that are sold in more than 200
countries.
Information on Compaq and its products and services is available
at http://www.compaq.com.
About NASA’s Consolidated Space Operations Contract
CSOC provides operations support, maintenance and sustaining engineering
or hardware and software systems in the Mission Control Center in support of
the International Space Station and Space Shuttle.
CSOC is a $3-billion-plus
contract awarded by NASA to Lockheed Martin, who serves as the prime
contractor to provide end-to-end space operations and Mission and Data
Services to both NASA and non-NASA customers.
CSOC manages NASA’s data
collection, telemetry and communications operations that support Earth-
orbiting satellites, planetary exploration, and human space flight activities.
Services include data acquisition from spacecraft, data transmission to end-
users, data processing and storage, ground and space communications, and
mission control center operations.
About Lockheed Martin Space Operations
Lockheed Martin Space Operations (LMSO) is a business unit of Lockheed
Martin Technology Services headquartered in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
LMSO, a
high-tech engineering and science services firm, employs about 4,000
engineers, scientists and support personnel.
Services include managing CSOC;
software and hardware engineering for the Space Shuttle and International
Space Station; mission operations and planning systems design, development,
and integration; and human life sciences research.
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This press release may contain
forward-looking statements based on current expectations that involve a number
of risks and uncertainties.
The potential risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially include: component shortages, delays
in the implementation of changes in delivery models, increased competitive
environment and pricing pressures, delays in product rollout schedules, slow
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instability.
Further information on the factors that could affect Compaq’s
financial results is included in Compaq’s Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) filings, including the latest Annual Report on Form 10-K and the latest
quarterly report on Form 10-Q.
