NASA Blasts Off with IPTV

NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., is using an IPTV system to broadcast news and weather channels internally, as well as NASA-generated channels, including those for live video of flight tests.

The Dryden space center is using a streaming-video system from Israel’s Optibase, the MGW 1100, which provides MPEG-4 H.264 video and audio over NASA's IP network. The system is controlled by Optibase's Cluster Manager.

The center is using Optibase's Display Manager software, which can display multiple video streams on one PC screen, and it also plans to deliver IPTV channels to set-top boxes.

"This system is a prime example of carrier-grade IPTV systems for the military and government markets,” Optibase president Adam Schadle said in a prepared statement.

The Dryden Flight Research Center is NASA's center for aeronautical flight research and atmospheric flight operations, and it also serves as a backup landing site for the space shuttle.