Dryden TV is the center's broadcast television unit. The staff includes a manager, a chief engineer, three production specialists, seven maintenance and operations technicians, and a ViTS room operator. Their mission at Dryden is multi-faceted. Supporting Space Shuttle landings at Edwards is one part of their work. The landings are covered by three television remote trucks around the runway, two long-range optics cameras, and a camera-equipped helicopter that provides aerial coverage over the landing site. The signals from these sources are transmitted via microwave and fiber optics to the Dryden Television control room in Building 4800. The switched program is then satellite uplinked to other NASA centers and the world's news media through the NASA Television network.
The same resources that are used for Shuttle landings are also used to support Dryden's flight research programs. Seven cameras in the Long Range Optics (LRO) room (building 4800) provide flight test support to the Western Aeronautical Test Range. Two are long-range cameras that track the Shuttle high in the atmosphere. The remote trucks are used to assist the LRO for take-off and landing views from the runway.
Dryden TV also provides a camera operator to fly in the back seat of the center's chase aircraft to cover the mission from the air. These video sources can be viewed in the mission control rooms by engineers for immediate analysis on the internal cable system.
Dryden TV is also responsible for supporting Dryden's link in NASA's teleconferencing network. The ViTs room handles an average of 150 teleconferences per month. The room is important because it allows NASA to save money by teleconferencing instead of expensive business trips.
The high technical quality of broadcast television produced at Dryden and the quality of the video systems here are due to Dryden TV's maintenance staff. They not only maintain Dryden TV's production equipment, but also the video system of Dryden security and the internal cable TV system.
The addition of the new Audio/Visual building has enhanced Dryden TV's capabilities by providing larger quarters for the offices, maintenance shop, and production facility. It provides a central office area, a reception area, a private conference room, and a customer viewing room shared with the Dryden telecommunications staff. The maintenance bay gives technicians a larger area to work on equipment and a separate area to store the production equipment, tools, and parts.
The most exciting new feature of the new building is the production facility. It consists of a new editing suite and studio that was installed by the Dryden TV staff, including lighting grid and sound suppression material on the walls, which saved Dryden $6,500. The editing suite complements the switch room on the second floor of building 4800, from which Shuttle landings and local productions are now directed, and where editing was formerly performed. The new room now houses the Grass Valley editing system complete with digital effects capabilities. The addition of a television studio gives Dryden a complete broadcast facility.
The Dryden TV team now provides a range of productions more easily and conveniently than before. Live NASA news productions, announcements, talk show style programs, and educational programs can be uplinked on the satellite to other NASA centers. Local programs, such as center director Ken Szalai speaking directly to employees over the internal cable system, can originate from the studio. This saves the employees from having to leave their work areas and the need to fit everyone in the ISF for an all-hands meeting. Creating special effects, such as chroma keying in people or objects in front of any background needed, the weatherman in front of the map type shot, can also be produced easier in the studio.
Sharing the new building with Dryden TV is the Dryden Telecommunications unit. This group is made up of the cable, telephone, and audio support staff at Dryden. The cable technicians are responsible for installing, troubleshooting, and maintaining all telephone, networking, and audio cables at Dryden. The audio technicians install and maintain the public address systems, radios, radio pagers, and repeater systems.
The two staffs often work together at events such as post-Shuttle press opportunities and any video taped events in the ISF. Dryden TV provides the video and the audio support group prepares the audio feed for the video.
Video and telecommunications support have become an increasingly important part of Dryden's research mission. The new Audio/Visual building will play an exciting new role in the support of that mission.