operations
Satellite Transmission
High speed communications between the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson and shore are handled by a satellite link. For this mission, a data stream will be transmitted to a communications satellite called Galaxy 10R which is in geo-synchronous orbit some 22,000 miles above the equator. Sufficient capacity on Galaxy 10R has been reserved to carry several different digital services including two-way email and internet telephone (VoIP) connections, as well as a high definition video stream originating on the ship. The signal from the satellite will be received by the UW's Ground Station mounted atop Kane Hall, a building at the center of the University of Washington campus in Seattle. From this location, connections will be made for email and phones to the Internet and the UW campus phone system. The video stream will be handled by UWTV master control and will be distributed to locations all over the USA and the world in a wide variety of ways, including satellite uplink, again, to reach people in their homes by direct broadcast satellite and by cable TV systems in 38 states. Distribution will also be on the Internet both as a standard definition program on ResearchChannel and as a high definition stream at several different quality levels for specific sites that have very high speed internet connections.
