THUNDER COMMAND CENTER

Command central...







Media invasion...

High atop the Galt House on Thunder Day, you can hear the activity as you step off the elevator. "This is command to Ground Zero. I have a location on the downed microwave link." "Aviation control to Standiford field, do we have clearance?" "This is broadcast operations, you have 5 seconds to a live shot." Louisville's answer to mission control and the Starship Enterprise, it's the single point where Thunder Over Louisville is controlled. It is the Thunder Command Center.

Don't think about dropping by unannounced, you will be met be armed gatekeepers. Louisville Police just doing their jobs. Even media is invited for a quick interview and escorted on their way. Sound like serious business for a day of fireworks fun? The crew in the command center take their responsibility seriously, so the day can be just that!

This is the nerve center for the entire show, from air operations to fireworks and sound to the central command for police, fire and emergency medical services. Four hotel rooms are converted in one week to house better technology than was used by NASA for the 1st lunar landing.

The Thunder Command Center controls the largest annual production in the Commonwealth. It relies on the service of every possible public agency from the Coast Guard to the Department of Corrections. It involves the rerouting of air traffic to Louisville International Airport, closing the Ohio River to commercial traffic, closing a state bridge, distributing sound by microwave to over 27 locations, a live television broadcast and providing food and restrooms for an estimated 600,000 people.

Communication is tantamount to a production of this magnitude. The controllers for every aspect of the show are housed in this central location and communicate with their people on "Ground Zero" (the event area) via cell phone, landline, radio or microwave. The hardware includes 475 hand-held radios, 200 cellular phones, 50 hard-wire lines and microwave links with 2 miles of wire on both sides of the river. Commands are coming and going from air, land, bridge, and water.

Disk-based computer technology is used to distribute information and run the show at the hands of producer Wayne Hettinger. Linked with the U.S. Naval Observatories atomic clock, the computer verbally alerts Thunder operations personnel of their status at the appropriate time. Several computers store the thousands of information cues that developed out of 9 months of ideas and dreams. This hi-tech information is relayed throughout the day at a mind-boggling rate.

Humans still play a vital role in the day. The air show is controlled by an air boss and staff linked directly to Standiford and Bowman fields. Police and EMS dispatchers relay information to ground forces from this satellite location. Information on lost children, media requests, and even toilet paper updates are communicated to the shows epi-center.

More than 2000 people will be working on Derby Festival Opening Ceremonies: Thunder Over Louisville to ensure a safe and crowd-pleasing show. They will be directed from Thunder's Command Center on a stage that includes Ground Zero, the Ohio River and the airspace above. They will present a 7 hour performance unequaled anywhere, without any dress rehearsal or single practice run.