Hiawatha, Iowa, 17 August 2006. Crystal Group Inc.'s CS900 server has been selected for NASA's Space Video Gateway System. Crystal's CS900 server will launch aboard STS-115 Atlantis in late August or early September and will be delivered to the International Space Station (ISS).
The Space Video Gateway (SVG) System will use live and recorded downlink capabilities to deliver High Definition (HD) and Standard Definition (SD) video streams from the International Space Station to the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Footage transmitted from the ISS will include research information, educational footage, external and internal equipment inspection data, and communications from the ISS crew.
One Crystal CS900 will be used on the Space Station to receive HD and SD video from on-board cameras and downlink the video streams using a NASA-developed network card. A second CS900 unit will receive and distribute the data on the ground.
The Crystal CS900 server used by NASA is tested to MIL-STD- 810F, MIL-STD-167-1, and MIL-S-901 D, indicating that it meets requirements for altitude, humidity, shock, and vibration, as well as operational temperature ranges from 0 degrees to 55 degrees Celsius.
Crystal Group's CS900 servers also underwent a thorough technical evaluation and met NASA's qualification requirements including thermal and environmental testing for radiation and electromagnetic interference.
