NASA’s Kennedy Space Center upgrades IT network with Ciena

Ciena Corp. (NASDAQ: CIEN) says it has partnered with Abacus Technology Corp. to upgrade the campus IT network at NASA's John F Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The enhanced fiber-optic network will use Optical Transport Network (OTN) technology from Ciena to consolidate the center's Ethernet, video, and legacy ATM and TDM traffic.

Large enough to have its own zip code, NASA's KSC comprises more than 200 facilities spread across a 144,000-acre complex. The site’s expansive IT network supports activities that range from managing NASA's space launch program to hosting millions of visitors from around the world. But with the aging and fragmented campus network struggling to bear the weight of growing bandwidth demands, NASA turned to Ciena and Abacus Technology to create a robust, converged telecommunications infrastructure.

Abacus Technology, which is contracted to provide support for all information management and communications services related to launch operations at KSC, is leading the design and installation of the new campus network, with completion of the upgrade expected in March.

The new network will connect major campus facilities via a fiber-optic infrastructure using Ciena's 4200 Advanced Services Platform. The OTN-enabled network will support the transport of Ethernet, SONET, and video traffic to consolidate the campus's multiple older networks onto a common infrastructure. KSC will also employ Ciena's network management software for efficient service deployment and proactive network management of its new network architecture.

"Here at KSC we are upgrading our communications infrastructure as part of our center transformation from the Shuttle Program to provide launch capability for NASA's next generation Heavy Lift Vehicle and commercial launch vehicles," said Kerry Stinson, director communication services, Abacus Technology Corp. "Ciena's OTN solution will enable telemetry, data, voice, and video convergence onto a common transport and allow us to seamlessly migrate off multiple independent and obsolete legacy transport systems. The OTN implementation will simplify our network and streamline operations, and enables KSC to provision reliable, high-speed/high-bandwidth communication services to commercial launch operations in a more cost-effective manner."

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