ALAMEDA, Calif. - A group of military veterans and other workers from the San Jose-based electrical contracting company Rosendin will upgrade the U.S.S. Hornet Sea, Air and Space Museum this month to increase technology access aboard the ship.
The group of 10 employees, including three veterans, are working pro-bono to install Wi-Fi, upgrade the ship's computer network, improve its cybersecurity network, support digital media exhibits and add wireless access points.
Rosendin is funding the $20,000 project through donations and volunteer work.
"We first heard about their needs last year, and the team was so excited we started collecting donated equipment and set up a PlanGrid project, which is like a digital blueprint, to map out the challenges of wiring the ship," said Matt Lamb, Rosendin's chief information officer.
The USS Hornet aircraft carrier was completed in 1943 and served in various capacities in World War II's Pacific Theater, the Korean War and the Vietnam War before being decommissioned in 1970.
The ship was converted into a museum and opened in 1998 at Alameda's former naval air station.