>> Live from Las Vegas
it's The Cube
covering NAB 2017.
Brought to you by HGST.
>> Welcome back to The Cube.
We are live at NAB 2017.
I'm Lisa Martin.
Very, very excited, kind of geeking out right now
to be joined by our next two guests.
Sam Blackman, the co-founder and CEO of AWS Elemental,
welcome to The Cube.
>> Sam: Thank you so much.
>> And we have NASA astronaut, Tracy Caldwell Dyson.
Both of you, welcome to The Cube.
>> Thank you.
>> Today has been a very historic day for
technology and space.
This was the first ever live 4k video stream
that happened between you on Earth, Sam,
and Doctor Peggy Whitson,
aboard the International Space Station.
>> Sam: Yes.
>> Wow.
Tell us about that.
>> It was truly amazing
to be part of history
and the amount of technology that came into play
to make this possible.
You know, sitting in the conference room in NAB
in the middle of Las Vegas,
seeing astronauts 250 miles ahead,
going around the Earth, 17,000 miles an hour
and a seamless, beautiful 4k picture.
It was mind blowing.
Hard to believe it's happened still.
>> I can't even imagine.
I'm getting goosebumps for you.
Tell us some of the things that Dr. Whitson shared
about her experiences.
What was the interaction like?
>> Well, Commander Whitson and Colonel Fisher was
also in the interview and that guy is hilarious,
by the way.
>> Yeah, he is.
>> He is hilarious.
They talked about how advanced imaging technology really
helps NASA perform experiments
and bring experiments that are happening
on the space station down to Earth
for researchers to use that data and discover
how the world works inside the universe.
Some of the really interesting examples revolved
around some experiments they showed.
With thin film technology they had a very small,
metallic structure that they could pull water out of
and then corral that water,
convert it into a spherical shape
and in the 4k resolution, you could just see
every element of that thin film in a way
that looked like it was right next to us.
I mean, it was transformative.
>> Tracy: Yeah.
>> I bet it was.
Well, speaking of transformative,
this was, I mentioned, a really historic event
for a number of reasons.
Obviously, for those of us on the ground,
for AWS Elemental.
But, Tracy, from your perspective,
you've been in space for 188...
I had it here somewhere, hours.
>> Yeah, days.
>> You've been on STS118,
you've been on the Soyuz to the station
on expeditions 23 and 24.
What does this capability now mean
in the life of an astronaut?
>> I think what it does is it helps us bring the experience
to everybody here on Earth.
It is so hard to capture what we are not just seeing,
but experiencing.
The richness, the detail,
the vividness of the colors
and how they're changing are all a part of looking
at our beautiful planet.
And just from that alone, being able to bring that
to the American people,
the world, really,
is, I think
to me a great relief.
Because it grieves me to think about how in the world
I would describe this beautiful, magnificent view
to everybody back home.
>> I can imagine.
You've done extra-vehicular space walks.
>> Tracy: Yes.
>> And I can imagine it's indescribable.
>> It is.
And from the fact you're looking at our planet
from 250 miles above,
you see the curvature of the Earth,
you see it moving at a super high speed,
you don't feel the wind in your face,
but there's no doubt you're traveling very fast.
Just the fact that you are out in the vacuum of space.
If you could bring parts of that experience
to people back home ...
I'm excited to think about how that would transform
just the way people think,
not to mention the way that they act towards our planet.
>> I also think inspiration ...
We were talking before we went on that you were about 14
when the Challenger incident happened,
we all kind of remember exactly where we were,
and that really, a teacher being in space
was so inspirational to you.
Can you imagine shifting the conversation
and what this technology is able to do inspiring
the next generation of people that want to be
the next Tracy Caldwell Dyson?
>> Well, I think what the technology does today,
especially in imaging capabilities,
is it provides so much more detail
than I could even describe.
That a young person today watching that,
and our generation today is so visual,
that they're going to pick up on things
that I wouldn't even think to describe to them.
And it's going to capture their imagination in ways
that are astounding.
Compared to I, who, just the sheer knowledge
of knowing there was a teacher
that was going into space, propelled me to work really hard.
I can only imagine what this generation's
going to be capable of because of the images
that we're bringing to them.
>> It's so exciting.
Sam, this is really kind of the tip of the iceberg.
From AWS Elemental's perspective, first of all,
you just had a rebrand.
But what does this mean for the future of the
video ecosystem?
>> Well, I think it really shows you
how the technology components came come together
to create unbelievable pictures no matter where you are
on the planet or in space.
We had a live 4k encoder on the space station itself
sending down signals to Johnson Space Center,
then Johnson Space Center sending redundant links
to Las Vegas, here, and the convention center.
And then processing the video, the interview with Tracy,
here in the space center--
or, here in NAB
and then using the cloud to distribute that
all over the world.
So these 4k images, which take a significant amount
of bandwidth, can be created in space,
delivered here, produced and delivered anywhere in the world
using the power of the cloud and
advanced networking technology.
And that's pretty amazing, when you think about it.
>> Lisa: It really is.
I don't think the three of us are smiling big enough.
>> I know.
It hurts!
>> There's so much relief in this face.
>> Lisa: I can imagine >> I bet.
>> I absolutely can imagine, I think.
One of the cool things about--
This is our first time at NAB with The Cube,
but we're here: Media, entertainment, Hollywood.
What this shows is
this transcendence of technology to space.
And there's so much interest in space.
In fact, Tracy, you were an advisor to Jessica Chastain
on "The Martian," which is probably pretty exciting.
>> Oh, absolutely.
It is.
>> But just the transcendence of that and how this
technology can be used to power things
that everybody can understand, movies and things.
But also the future of space exploration,
which I can imagine, right now in the era
of the space shuttle being retired now,
depending on Soyuz rockets to get to the space station
as the next vehicle is delivered,
this must be quite inspirational for you as an astronaut,
as not only is the next vehicle in development,
but also, the exploration of Mars.
In fact, you were just last month with President Trump.
>> Tracy: Yes.
>> As they signed a bill.
What are your thoughts about that
and how do you see imaging technology being
an instrumental part of Mars exploration?
>> In so many ways, but at the top is the momentum.
Like you said, with Hollywood has captured space in some
real endearing ways.
And the images from NASA,
from the human space flight program to Hubble to deep space,
it is propelling ... it's momentum.
And I think we need that momentum,
especially with our young folks
because they're going to be the ones,
let's face it, who are going to be in the best condition
to be on the planet of Mars.
So, if we can continue to feed them the images
as lifelike as we can, so that they feel they're there,
I think we are heading in the right direction
to actually being there.
>> Wow, fantastic!
Congratulations to both of you.
Thank you both so much for joining us on The Cube.
We can't wait to see what's next.
>> Sam: Thank you so much. >> Tracy: Thank you.
Thank you.
>> Well, for Tracy and Sam, I'm Lisa Martin.
You've been watching The Cube live from NAB 2017.
Stick around, we'll be right back.
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