Clear-Com Installs Intercom Systems For Andøya Space Center

Clear-Com® has announced what is believed to be its northernmost installation in the world, at the Andøya Space Center (ASC) located two degrees north of the Arctic Circle in northern Norway, and a separate rocket launch site several hundred kilometers away at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.

The new Clear-Com installation is based around the HelixNet digital network partyline system with LQ IP interfaces, and was chosen to overcome challenges including audio quality and long cable runs, as well as introducing flexibility to the system configuration and taking advantage of IP technology.

Established in 1962, Andøya Space Center is a solution provider for sounding rocket, balloon and remotely piloted aircraft operations. A sounding rocket is designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight.

ASC's existing intercom system was based on analog 2-wire and 4-wire technology. "As the activity at Andøya Space Center increased, we had a need to expand the intercom to enable multi-channel communication over long distances - anywhere from a few kilometres locally here at Andøya to several hundred kilometres to Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard," said Halgeir Wold, Project Manager Documentation, Andøya Space Center. "The intercom system had grown ad hoc, with some cable runs of up to 1500 meters. This eventually generated so much noise and crosstalk on the lines that it became a problem for us."

With previous experience of Clear-Com's analog solutions, the team turned once again to the leader in communications to discuss their requirements, which included the possibilities for intercom over IP.

"We have had comprehensive communication with Clear-Com's representative, Soundware in Norway, throughout the process and they helped us to specify what we needed," said Wold. "We borrowed a demo system to do some testing and were satisfied that the system based on HelixNet and LQ IP interfaces would provide the clarity and flexibility required."

Rolv Valley, Product Manager, Soundware said: "During the proof of concept stage, Soundware demonstrated the combined flexibility of HelixNet and LQ which further improved the audio quality of the ASC’s digital system."

The main HelixNet system is installed at Andøya Space Centre headquarters at Andenes, which houses important functions including Mission Control, Telemetry Control and Launch Control. The system includes three HelixNet HMS-4X master panels and several LQ IP to 4-wire and IP to 2-wire interfaces, plus remote panels, speaker stations and wired beltpacks.

The Svalbard operation features a HelixNet master panel and an Encore Partyline system connected via four LQ IP to 2-wire interfaces, which in turn are connected to the system at Andenes over IP. An additional two HelixNet speaker station panels are located at two research stations in Longyearbyen - the EISCAT Svalbard Radar, a Northern Lights observatory, and the Kjell Henriksen Observatorium. These panels are also connected over IP directly to a HelixNet HMS at Andenes.

"A rocket launch is not something we take lightly, and uninterrupted communication with high quality is critical to us during these times. All communications in connection with a launch, including countdown, now takes place on the Clear-Com system," Wold stated. "The combination of HelixNet and LQ IP interfaces have given us a significant improvement in the quality of the intercom. We are now far more flexible because we can configure a HelixNet panel here at the office, and then send it to the location it will be used. The user at the remote site simply has to connect it to the network and we are up and running right away. It cannot be any easier than that! Plus, the sound quality is also significantly improved and all the users give us very good feedback on this."

"We have tried to keep the number of panels to a minimum by distributing the important communication to the PA system at the site, to locations where one may need to keep track of what’s happening such as corridors, break rooms and canteens," explained Wold. "That way one can keep track of what’s happening without necessarily being in front of a panel."

Users can also connect to the system remotely via the Agent-IC mobile app for Android and IOS, hosted by the LQ panels, so they can move around the facility or maintain communication when the road is closed in connection with a rocket launch.