The Space Shuttle program will resume next month, and Nortel will offer important service to enable NASA's critical information and data sharing among the Space Shuttle Discovery, the International Space Station, and NASA operations centers on the ground. Nortel's backbone routers already support the Mars Rover, the Hubble Telescope, and other NASA programs.

Nortel and Pronto are also making life easier for the many journalists covering NASA events. Nortel deploys a Nortel Mobility Solution, including a Nortel Wireless Mesh Network and Pronto's integrated operations support system (OSS) platform, at the Kennedy Space Center. The thousands of journalists gathered to cover the launch will be using the network to report on the resumption of shuttle missions. The wireless mesh network cover the six-acre NASA Press Site, and reporters will have secure network access as they move about the observation area.

For more on NASA's mesh network:
- see this Unstrung report

PLUS: On July 4, NASA's Deep Impact slams an 800-pound projectile into Comet Tempel 1 at 23,000 miles per hour. The collision should create a splash, and you may be able to watch it even without sophisticated instruments. Story