"We're upgrading the station's information technology to create a state-of-the-practice baseline to build on going forward," says Dan Brooks, South Pole Station Modernization IT Manager for Raytheon Polar Services Company, which provides operations, logistics, engineering, construction, and facility maintenance support for the NSF's U.S. Antarctic Program.

Planning for the IT upgrade began in 1995, with implementation kicking off in 2000. The IT upgrade is part of the South Pole Station Modernization (SPSM) project, a $153-million upgrade to the infrastructure of the station, increasing the ability to support the telecommunications and technology needs of a growing research community. The IT upgrade includes the station cable infrastructure, data services, telecommunications systems, a modern operations center, and comprehensive network services, as well as the construction of new satellite ground terminals.

Brooks notes that, although the present Amundsen-Scott station was built in the 1970s, the IT infrastructure has been continually upgraded and modernized in the intervening years.

"There's a lot of fiber optics around the station, and a lot of high-speed copper connectivity," says Brooks. "By the end of the project, it will all be high-speed copper and fiber optic and it will be equivalent to a state-of-the-practice corporate campus in the U.S., in terms of the infrastructure capabilities."

This includes a high-speed network backbone to support IP telephones, intercontinental data and communications, site wide printer compatibility, electronic data storage infrastructure, network management capabilities, as well as the ability to locate and contact people on the campus via paging or radio frequency phones.

Close-out of all IT upgrade projects is scheduled to coincide with the 2007 completion of the new 65,000-sf elevated station. (For more information on the SPSM project see South Pole Station Modernization Project.)

Close Coordination

To avoid interrupting ongoing research, the NSF requires that the existing station be maintained until the new station is fully operational. Maintaining all the interconnections between the old and new stations means running two stations while planning a complex series of transition issues that assure continuity of operations for scientists.

"We have to install the cable in the new station, both the inside-plant cabling and the outside-plant cabling, to support all the functions of the new station," says Brooks. "At the same time we have to keep all the functions and systems of the old station running until we are fully transitioned into the new station."

This calls for close coordination within the project construction schedule for the new station.

"As they're building the new station, we want to be cabling right behind them at the appropriate point and providing transition services such as network connectivity and voice access," says Brooks.

VoIP

As part of the network backbone project, the SPSM IT upgrade includes the implementation of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone system. VoIP converges data and voice into one data stream, makes it easier to mange the constrained bandwidth at the South Pole, and provides better utilization of that bandwidth. Operating costs should also be reduced.

"Industry studies show that where you can utilize the same equipment at a lower skill set of personnel, or a combined skill set, your operating costs will be reduced," says Brooks, adding that costs savings are a "moving target" in the SPSM because they are essentially running two stations until the new station is complete.

Integrated voice-and-data applications are currently being deployed during the transition to the new station. The initiatives were undertaken under the old operational station, but SPSM is funding and implementing VoIP and some other convergent technology initiatives.

"VoIP is coming into a Level 1 maturity where when you pick up a phone there's a dial tone," says Brooks. "People recognize and demand that. If the data network goes down, people are used to that. They say, 'Let us know when it's back up.' But if the phones go down, people get pretty upset."

Because it is imperative that the South Pole station maintain voice communications with the outside world for safety and aviation control, an Iridium satellite phone and short wave radio systems serve as backup communications. Iridium, a system of 66 low-earth orbiting satellites operated by Boeing, provides the station with 24/7 voice connectivity to the anywhere in the world.

Brooks notes that the system also has an onsite backup analog system, so the data network is not only redundant but redundant-redundant.

"The quality of the equipment and software are mature to the point that the chances of a total failure are very, very remote," says Brooks.

Avoiding Interference

To avoid interfering with the science experiments going on at the station, most of the communications system will be hard wired with fiber and copper. All voice communications, including radios, will be directed over the network.

"That means that a radio can call a voice phone, a voice phone can call a radio, or you can have radio-to-radio communication over the network," says Brooks.

Although design hasn't been finalized, Brooks says the station will have a trunked land mobile radio system with a series of low-power transmit-and-receive stations. The station's current radio system features walkie-talkies with a base station and repeaters.

"They're actually old military spec radios, similar to the kind fire-and-rescue people have been using for many years," says Brooks. "The system works, but it's reached the end of its useful life."

Brooks adds that the new system, which should be operational by 2005, will comply with the specifications of Project 25 (P25) established by the Association of Public Safety Communications for metropolitan, state, and federal public safety radio systems. These standards include compatibility, interoperability, and security.

Satellites

Because of the South Pole's remote location, satellites provide the only practical way to relay information to and from Amundsen-Scott. The station's location, however, makes satellite communication a challenge since, for practical reasons, most satellites orbit close to the equator.

The station can currently send and receive data from four satellites:

• TDRS F1—"Tracking and Data Relay Satellite" operated by NASA launched in 1983. F1 identifies this as the first flight of this satellite to be launched.
• LES9—"Lincoln Experimental Satellite" developed by the MIT Lincoln Laboratory for the U.S. Air Force satellite and launched in 1976.
• MARISAT-F2—A commercial maritime satellite launched in 1976 and operated by COMSAT.
• GOES-3—"Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite" launched in 1978 and operated by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration.

"Between the four satellites, we get about 11 solid hours of coverage," says Brooks.

These are all older satellites, most of them in geosynchronous orbit, making a figure-eight pattern over a specific area of the earth's surface. For example, if the center of the figure eight is Hawaii, the satellite makes one loop to the north, returns to the center before making a loop to the south where it would be visible to the South Pole station.

As their orbits decay, they are more visible to the South Pole. However, they are also less likely to be supported by their parent agencies. The LES9 satellite, for instance, is no longer being supported by the Air Force.

New Ground Stations

In January 2001, a new satellite ground station designed by L3 Satellite Networks of Hauppauge, N.Y., went into operation at the South Pole, connecting the station with MARISAT-F2 and GOES-3. Another ground station at the South Pole station will connect the station with TDRS F3, the third version of this satellite.

"That will give us a much higher bandwidth capability but only for short periods of time," says Brooks, noting that Amundsen-Scott will have to share its connection to TDRS F3 with NASA, which uses it as a data link for the space station and the space shuttle.

Launched in 1988, TDRS F3's orbit should have declined enough by 2005 that it will be visible from the South Pole. In the meantime, components are being tested and test built. The steel for the new ground station platform was sent to the Pole with this year's shipment. The steel for the platform will be erected next summer. Test builds will be done with the antennae components in the U.S. and the rest will be shipped to the Pole over the next two summer seasons. The TDRS F3 ground station is scheduled to be operational in 2006.

Climatic Challenges

Brooks notes that, just like the construction side of the SPSM project, there are challenges for the IT upgrade. One challenge is that much of the cable connecting different facilities on the campus sits outside. All of that has to be armored and tested for the cold temperatures.

"On the bad side, it adds weight and cost to the project," says Brooks. "On the good side, it's easier to trench in the snow pack than it is in dirt and rock."

Brooks notes that the metal in the new satellite ground stations is difficult to work with at cold temperatures. They also have to design extreme cold protections into electronics or antenna parts that are exposed to the ambient temperatures.

"We've worked with manufacturers to cold test their products and solutions to make sure they work well," says Brooks. "In some cases, we've built in a thermostat that kicks on a heater in the enclosure near a sensitive piece of equipment."

By Lee Ingalls

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