Throughout the building, the power supply is primarily run beneath a typical steel raised floor. Cables pass through roomy ceiling trays, which allow for future expansion. With so much electronic equipment running at full capacity in one space, heating loads are tremendous. Having the GNOC underground mitigates some of the demand, but cooling still requires two 375-ton chillers. A third was installed for future use.
Backup generators ensure a redundant fail-safe operation.
Built in 1963 and located in Building 30 at the Johnson Space Center, Mission Control was technologically sophisticated in its day. These are used to monitor much more than orbiting astronauts. And, thanks to the Internet and other technological advances, there are more of them than one would imagine. He estimates the number of of NOCs is growing by 100 percent per year and will continue for the next two or three years. Most of these are for Internet hosting and co-location facilities, such as Intel and Exodus.