World Space Week celebrates the contributions of space science and technology to the betterment of humanity. This year, World Space Week is dedicated to satellites and their broad benefits under the theme “Satellites Improve Life.” Satellites have been a part of society for sixty-three years. The first satellite, Sputnik, was launched by Russia in 1957. In response, the United States launched Explorer 1 a year later. Since then, space technology has advanced exponentially; satellites integrate so seamlessly into the modern world that we often overlook the central role that they play in daily life. A day without satellites would leave the world without essential communications services related to mobile phones, internet, banking, transportation, GPS, television, healthcare, education, air traffic control, government, defense, disaster recovery operations, and the vital global economic infrastructure.
Compunetix’s involvement in the space industry began in the 1980s when NASA needed a sizeable upgrade to their communication system at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. NASA chose Compunetix to develop, build, and implement two new digital systems for the voice switching system and the voice distribution system (VSS and VSD). The shift from analog to digital meant that telecommunications could be done with more efficiency and greater flexibility than ever before. By 1992, Compunetix had replaced all of NASA Goddard’s core mission voice technology.
NASA is multigenerational customer of Compunetix; our communication technology helps advance satellite space exploration while also playing an integral role at launch support facilities like Hanger AE at Cape Canaveral. Satellites are critical assets that require clean rooms, telemetry stations, and numerous different teams who rely on no-fail communication systems to execute their mission.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is also a multigenerational customer that utilizes Compunetix’s technology at command centers in Maryland, Virginia, and Alaska. Satellites are fundamental to weather forecasting, disaster preparedness, recovery, and search and rescue.
Beyond NASA and NOAA, Compunetix’s Mission Voice Platform (MVP) is used by the Department of Defense (DoD) in several capacities. For national defense operations, our technology helps government satellites detect rocket and missile launches all over the world. Compunetix has deployed over 275 MVPs to the US military and government, serving the need for critical, real-time command center applications.
Satellites, and the thousands of people coordinating their control, drastically improve life on Earth. From GPS to air traffic control, satellites work continually behind the scenes, keeping us safe while supporting our global infrastructure. This week, Compunetix will be honored for our role in designing, developing, and commercializing sophisticated and scalable collaborative voice communication platforms used in NASA space missions and American satellite operations across the globe. Click here for the Space Foundation’s virtual award ceremony.