A Solid State Logic System T broadcast audio production platform has been installed at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, to supports the Communications & Public Affairs Office’s NASA Television operations.
The System T S500 large-format modular mixing console and TE2 Tempest Engine provide routing, mixing and processing of all broadcast audio sources for NASA TV’s multi-platform programming, which includes coverage of all human and uncrewed space missions as well as a continuous live stream from the International Space Station.
The 80-fader System T S500 is installed in the Audio Control Room (ACR) at the Communications & Public Affairs Office (PAO), which is linked to the Mission Control Center, a location that has served as the nerve centre of American human spaceflight since June 1965. It is also used for TV programming for outside media, as well as third parties such as Boeing and SpaceX, whose missions launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
LD Systems in Houston provides audio, video and lighting solutions for live event production, sales, integration and service support, and supplied and integrated NASA’s new System T. In addition to the S500 console, the system includes three SSL Network I/O D64 AES-to-Dante conversion boxes, eight A32 analogue line I/O boxes and two SB 32.24 mic/line stageboxes. As well as replacing an older mixing desk the SSL S500 has replaced the previous routing workflow, becoming the audio nexus for all live television productions. Rather than relying on a dedicated router, all audio sources and signals now pass through the desk and are routed via the System T software.
The console is operational 24/7, and has not been powered down since it was commissioned in February 2023 handling a mix of Mission Audio created by and broadcasted from the console to public streaming platforms. The console is also used to create the audio programme for press conferences, live interviews between a ground-based participant and an orbiting crew member, and for coverage of dynamic spaceflight activities such as spacewalks and launches of crewed missions to the ISS.
System T’s scene automation capabilities enable each audio operator to tailor the workflow according to individual preference, in terms of console layout and the way that sources are mapped to the S500 surface, for example. Since NASA TV programming and associated press conferences can be dynamic, this functionality allows an audio engineer to easily build a new mix and, as one example, accommodate a remote subject matter expert.
System T’s processing is widely employed to reduce noise, especially from the locations that use analogue audio connections over long-line copper. The console’s noise mitigating tools include high/low-pass filtering and an Automix feature. NASA employs System T’s noise gate to duck one feed in favour of another, sometimes in stacked ducking scenarios.
‘NASA’s audio production demands have grown exponentially from the days of the space shuttle,’ comments Phil Wagner, Solid State Logic’s LA-based Senior VP. ‘The Artemis program’s upcoming manned moon flights and eventual missions to Mars as well as commercial space ventures such as SpaceX Dragon and Boeing Starliner will all introduce even more complexity to the broadcast audio. SSL’s System T platform will enable the ACR to adapt and grow according to NASA TV’s evolving production requirements.’
More: www.solidstatelogic.com
