New ops building at Menwith completed, fit up begins

DYNAMIC PAGE -- HIGHEST POSSIBLE CLASSIFICATION IS TOP SECRET // SI / TK // REL TO USA AUS CAN GBR NZL (U//FOUO) New Operations Building at MHS Completed, Fit-Up Begins FROM: Menwith Hill Station (F77) Run Date: 08/09/2011 (U//FOUO) This is an exciting time in the life of Menwith Hill Station (MHS) as Project Phoenix -- the construction of a new operations building -- recently achieved a very significant milestone. The building was completed on schedule in July and was handed over to Mission Engineering to execute the "fit-up" phase of the project. (U//FOUO) Phoenix exterior as it appeared in May 2011 (U//FOUO) Fit-up includes activities such as the installation of the Information Technology infrastructure, Collaborative Desk Environment furniture, safety and security systems, and many other activities that make the building fit for purpose. The fit-up phase of the project spans a 12-month period and once complete, will result in several "firsts" for MHS: the first equipment room with fully redundant power and cooling supplies providing a more robust and reliable infrastructure that will reduce the risk of mission loss due to power anomalies; the first auditorium, with a seating capacity of 200 that will be used to host both classified events for Operations and unclassified events for the Menwith Hill community; and the first fully open office floor plan, which facilitates a more creative and collaborative environment. Phoenix will also deliver a new and much improved Education and Training facility that includes 10 classrooms boasting the latest in teaching aid technology, a student break room, and a materials prep area for instructors. The Education and Training team at MHS will be postured to meet the needs of our diverse workforce for many years to come. Phoenix auditorium (U//FOUO) The Phoenix auditorium will seat 200 people and will provide the latest in audio/visual capabilities.

(U//FOUO) The changes for the Operations Compound do not end with the completion of the Phoenix building. In fact, in many ways, that is just the beginning. MHS Civil Engineering and Mission Engineering personnel are actively working on plans for refurbishing spaces in the existing operations compound that will be left vacant following the transition to Phoenix. These plans include decant and demolition of Porta-cabin 5 (PC5), and repurposing prime space in existing Operations buildings. (U) Phoenix facts: (U) 758 tons of steel were used in the construction of the Phoenix (U) Over 4,000 tradespeople were involved in the construction phase (U) 3,758 requests for site access were processed (U) 957,070 hours of work have been logged since breaking ground in spring 2009... this is equivalent to 1 person working 8 hours per day, 5 days per week, for 460 years! (U//FOUO) Over 182 miles of cable and fiber will be installed during IT fit-up... enough to stretch from MHS to Edingburgh Castle! (U//FOUO) The Phoenix data center increases the equipment room footprint at MHS by 30%. Phoenix data center (U//FOUO) The Phoenix data center will provide an additional 10,000 square feet of rack space with fully redundant power and cooling infrastructure. The data center will be available to host new mission systems in late November 2011 (pending on-time handover). (U//FOUO) POC: (s) (U//FOUO) SIDtoday editor's note: The above is an updated version of an article that appeared in MHS's Horizon newsletter, June 2011 edition.