New CDF - Building Nears Completion
The new ESTEC building which will accommodate the new CDF laboratory is nearing completion and will be handed over to ESA at the end of May 2007 for the final integration phase of the project. Progress has been rapid with the last few weeks seeing the ceilings and floor coverings going in, while all the doors and most of the electrics are now complete.
The final integration phase will see the installation of Audio, Video and data communications within all 3 design rooms ensuring the rapid secure communication exchange of information between all ESA sites and external partners. The design work currently in progress will ensure the CDF remains the leading state of the art concurrent engineering facility within Europe for space missions with additional capacity capable of running multiple studies. The unique experience of the CDF will be retained, as the CDF suite of rooms are self contained but at the same time fully integrated and interoperable, sharing the same server cluster. The two main rooms will loosely resemble the original CDF with the familiar multi media walls and smart boards etc. All three rooms will have full video conferencing facilities and the ability to view data from the multi media walls of the other rooms.
