The all-space channel is remotely produced by Harmonic, a provider of compression and storage technology, and jointly operated with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Harmonic is currently in discussions with pay-TV operators to carry the channel on their satellite DTH, cable and optical networks. In addition, tests are underway to enable consumption on a wide range of televisions and IP-connected devices. The channel will also be available for OTT streaming at a later date, to be determined.

The channel leverages images shot at the International Space Station with multiple Red EPIC Dragon 6K cameras and at least one Canon C500 4K camera. NASA has already uploaded some of this footage in 4K to the space agency’s YouTube channel.

For distribution, the all-space channel is transmitted via the SES AMC-18C satellite and is using an end-to-end UHD delivery system from Harmonic on the ground.

The NASA TV UHD utilizes an end-to-end solution that includes Harmonic's Ellipse 3000 contribution encoder, ProView 7100 integrated receiver-decoder (IRD), MediaGrid shared storage system, Polaris playout management suite, Spectrum X advanced media server system, Electra X2 and Electra X3 advanced media processors, ProMedia Origin packager and streaming video server and NSG Exo distributed CCAP system.

NASA TV UHD consists of eight new TV series designed to explore the various facets of the agency’s space program. These include: “ISS Life,” documenting life on the space station from the first-person perspective of the astronauts; “Earth View,” the astronauts' unique perception of our planet; “Solar System,” showing vibrant imagery of the earth's neighboring planets and the sun, including time-lapse videos using solar dynamics observatory images; “Deep Space,” animated UHD still imagery captured from the Hubble telescope and other telescopic platforms; “NASA Classics,” important highlights from NASA's history, such as the Apollo program; “Mars,” an entire program dedicated to the intriguing red planet; "Liftoff," an up-close look at spacecraft launches, including rocket tests; and “Development,” detailing the training and R&D efforts that take place before each NASA mission.

For more information on gaining access to the NASA TV UHD channel, see trailer.