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SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS JULY 2011 www.securitysystemsnews.com Lift off: NASA security director talks about securing Endeavour By Leischen Stelter CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.—On May 16, the second-to-last shuttle, Endeavour launched from Ken- nedy Space Center here at NASA headquarters after its first launch attempt was scrubbed on April 29 due to a system failure in the shuttle’s heater system. Security Director News, the sister publication of SSN, had NO.5 NO DISTRIBUTION As a valued authorized DMP dealer you have access to products and services that others can’t compete with. Like the new XTL™ Wireless Security System with built-in cellular communication providing instant RMR. It’s amazingly quick to install, offers users the ability to control their system and get status updates remotely using the DMP MyAccess™ Features. the opportunity to visit just days before the launch and speak with NASA’s security director about the unique challenges in protect- ing the shuttle. One of the most important elements of securing the shuttle and the 144,000 acres of property at Kennedy Space Center is collaborating with local and federal entities, said Mark Borsi, security director of NASA protective services branch, during a media preview for ASIS International Seminar & Exhibits, Continued from page 9 Soon, AHS will have 85 VideoIQ cameras at a large healthcare clin- ic, which will be a big test to see if the solution is viable on a larger scale. The end goal is to have a “smart” camera in the emergency room in every major hospital in Alberta, said Smith. Another challenge in central- izing its system has been storage solutions. Smith said there have been several issues with deploy- ing NVRs, especially at its rural sites. “At those locations, NVRs are subjected to power outages and bumps in the network and that can knock cameras off line and we lose the whole system when it’s offline,” he said. Over- all, Smith said video retention has been difficult to manage. The Vid- eoIQ cameras have 250 gigabytes of storage, which sounds like a lot, but he said that when you’re recording in HD at 30fps, those gigabytes disappear fast, usually in a day or two. “You have to be cognizant of it,” he said. “HD cameras are awesome and it’s incredible quality, but you really have to know the storage capac- ity to accommodate HD cameras, and we weren’t prepared for that.” Smith says they’re now looking at terabytes to store video. SSN ANALYTICS dmp MemBErsHip P hAs It’s rIvILegEs 2011. . which will take place in Orlando on Sept. 19-22. Borsi is charged with dealing with any threats made to the shut- tle program. “It is of vital impor- tance to cooperate with state and federal groups,” he said. Borsi partners with local law enforce- ment, the FBI, the Joint Terror- ism Task Force, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard to secure the premise and communicate any threats that may impact the shuttle launch. Working with other agen- cies is critical to protecting its assets. However, the NASA secu- rity team must also be extremely self-reliant and prepared to deal with any situation. “We rely on the surrounding community, but keep in mind emergency response is 30 or 40 minutes away, same with armed response,” he said. Therefore, NASA has specialized agents, many former high-level law enforcement officers. NEWS 11 The space center has 150 uni- formed security police officers, along with its own fire depart- ment and emergency manage- ment teams. “We have a lot of dangerous stuff in our buildings, so to rely on external people to respond or resolve critical secu- rity issues would be foolhardy,” Borsi said. Preparing for a shuttle launch presents unique security issues NASA see page 13 The revenue-generating XTL is available only to dealers in the DMP authorized network. Contact us about becoming a business partner at 877.725.1114, or visit us at www.dmp.com /