LYNX Technik AG Heads to Space - Raises Bar for Rigorous Space Laboratory Project

LYNX Technik AG, provider of intelligent interface products for the broadcast and professional audio & video industry, has been selected to provide their Series 3000 video conversion products to EADS ASTRIUM Space Transportation, chief contractors and developers of a new Video Data and Power Distribution Unit (VDPU), which will be used by the Columbus Space Laboratory.

Columbus is a multi-purpose laboratory for multi-disciplinary research under zero gravity conditions. The interior of Columbus consists of 16 racks, which accommodate laboratory equipment, computers and a variety of technical systems. Furthermore Columbus has four additional external payload racks for experiments outside the lab. This lab has become the main working area for European astronauts. As the main contractor for Columbus, EADS ASTRIUM Space Transportation heads a consortium of companies that are responsible for the design, development, production, integration, and testing of the Columbus Lab.

The LYNX Series 3000 equipment will provide analog to digital (A to D) and digital to analog (D to A) video conversion, contributing to the overall video processing infrastructure required in the Video Data and Power Distribution Unit of the Columbus Lab. The VDPU is scheduled to be sent to the International Space Station earliest on 2010.

LYNX made special modifications to their conversion solutions in order to accommodate the unique requirements and extremely rigorous demands of a space application. Leveraging the intelligent backbone of the modules, their versatile and true multi-mode operation, LYNX was required to pass a number of tests and deliver a reliable and compact solution that could stand up to a variety of distinctive issues, including radiation.

"During our selection process, we had a strict set of criteria for our application in space," comments Thomas Janke, Project Manager with EADS ASTRIUM. "It was very clear early on that LYNX Technik had the technology, insight and know-how to provide us with the most reliable solution."

"This is an extremely exciting project for us," mentioned Winfried Deckelmann, LYNX Technik's CEO. "We understood the application and envisioned a product that would meet the unique requirements for space qualified equipment. We enhanced our conversion technology to address the unique environmental challenges and technical requirements of space that existing products could not satisfy."

The full range of Series 3000 MiniModules are versatile and reliable, have been rigorously tested, and has been proven to work in the most demanding of multi-format environments. Applications include; mobile vans (OB trucks), broadcast master control rooms, production studios, network operating centers, post production, video duplication facilities, and more. They offer broadcast professionals an affordable, compact and extremely flexible solution for audio and video processing.