NASA Is Preparing To Shut Down Its ISS Live Feed

[atmjjc]

According to this report (link below) ISS live feed video is shutting down within 2 weeks. They informed that the cost far outweighs the viewership. Looking for a a fat cat organization to cover its cost.:mad:

http://www.ufo-blogger.com/2014/03/censorship-nasa-is-preparing-to-shut.html

[majicbar]

I find nothing indicating that either NASA, nor ESA will abandon this experiment. It is listed as being scheduled through several coming expeditions. I think it is more likely a rumor than established fact, but the again we will have to see if things have changed.


FYI....

The High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment aboard the ISS was activated April 30, 2014. It is mounted on the External Payload Facility of the European Space Agency’s Columbus module. This experiment includes several commercial HD video cameras aimed at the Earth which are enclosed in a pressurized and temperature controlled housing. While the experiment is operational, views will typically sequence though the different cameras. Between camera switches, a gray and then black color slate will briefly appear.

Link to the cameras: http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ForFun/HDEV/

ISS Science for Everyone

Science Objectives for Everyone
The High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) experiment places four commercially available HD cameras on the exterior of the space station and uses them to stream live video of Earth for viewing online. The cameras are enclosed in a temperature specific housing and are exposed to the harsh radiation of space. Analysis of the effect of space on the video quality, over the time HDEV is operational, may help engineers decide which cameras are the best types to use on future missions. High school students helped design some of the cameras' components, through the High Schools United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program, and student teams operate the experiment.
HDEV Facts:

While the HDEV collects beautiful images of the Earth from the ISS, the primary purpose of the experiment is an engineering one: monitoring the rate at which HD video camera image quality degrades when exposed to the space environment (mainly from cosmic ray damage) and verify the effectiveness of the design of the HDEV housing for thermal control.
The four cameras of the HDEV experiment are oriented in different directions and with different views relative to the ISS travel direction. They are in positioned, 1 looking forward, 1 looking nearly straight down, and 2 looking back. This provides several different viewing angles to the viewer.
The cameras are programmed to cycle from one camera to the next, and only one camera can work at a time. As they cycle, each camera must turn off and the next camera turn on before the HD video starts, taking about 8 to 10 seconds to change. Through this cycling, comparable data can be collected on each camera; while also providing, as a bonus, different Earth viewing perspectives.
The University of Bonn in partnership with the German Space Agency (DLR) is implementing the "Columbus Eye" program based on the HDEV streaming video. A webpage is in place (http://columbuseye.uni-bonn.de/ in German) that incorporates the HDEV UStream video and describes the Columbus Eye project, which will leverage ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst educational activities in space.
For all questions regarding HDEV, please contact the HDEV Principal Investigator, Susan Runco.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/st...ments/917.html

Experiment Details


OpNom HDEV
Principal Investigator(s)
Susan Runco, M.S., Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States

Co-Investigator(s)/Collaborator(s)

Lori Motes
David Hornyak, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States
Carlos Fontanot, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States

Developer(s)
NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX, United States

Sponsoring Space Agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Sponsoring Organization
Technology Demonstration Office (TDO)

Research Benefits
Information Pending
**************************
ISS Expedition Duration
March 2014 - Ongoing

**************************
Expeditions Assigned
39/40,41/42,43/44,45/46,47/48

**************************

Research Overview
The High Definition Earth Viewing (HDEV) investigation places four different commercial high definition cameras external to the International Space Station (ISS) on the Columbus External Facility.
These cameras video will assess camera quality for space use while taking Earth imagery.
These cameras assess the hardware's ability to survive and function in the extreme radioactive environment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
Educational outreach has been an important component of the HDEV project through the entire projects life cycle. NASA HUNCH program students fabricated some of the HDEV flight components, and most of the HDEV operation will be performed by students teams.


Description
The High Definition Earth Viewing HDEV primary objective is to validate the space-based performance of the cameras in a variety of operating modes to exercise and demonstrate the features and longevity of the COTS equipment for future ISS Program usage. This payload is an external earth viewing multiple camera system using a set of Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) cameras. The HDEV integrated assembly is composed of a camera system of four COTS cameras, integrated Command and Data Handling (C&DH) avionics (ethernet), and a power data distribution box that allows the integration of the payload's components interface to the ISS Columbus module.

The HDEV visible HD video cameras are a fixed payload camera system that requires no zoom, no pan or tilt mechanisms. The four fixed cameras are positioned to capture imagery of the Earth’s surface and its limb as seen from the ISS (i.e., one camera forward pointed into the station’s velocity vector, two cameras aft (wake), and the other one camera pointing nadir). The video imagery is encoded into an Ethernet compatible format for transmission to the ground and further distribution. In this format, the video can be viewed from any computer connected to the internet.

The HDEV does not record video on board the ISS, all video is transmitted to the ground real time; any desired recording of the video occurs as ground operations. The COTS cameras, COTS encoder and other electronics are enclosed in a pressurized box to provide a level of protection to the electronics from the space environment. The Enclosure contains dry nitrogen at Atmospheric pressure.

The NASA High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH) program participated in the development of the HDEV. The HDEV project partnered with the HUNCH program to build several structural and support components of the HDEV flight system.

[atmjjc]

Here is another article from a different website dated MARCH 19, 2014.

http://www.outerplaces.com/universe/technology/item/3554-nasa-prepares-to-shut-down-its-iss-live-feed

Possibly some plagiarism going on here by the other site and it does not say the source of how this information was obtained.

Since we are in January 2015 it would be safe to say NASA found a fat cat or the article was a complete farce without source.



...

[majicbar]

Perhaps this is nothing more than a slam on Jennifer Price, she is an African American manager at JSC and there is nothing to indicate in the other project documentation that she is involved in the program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYoTGuQroRI