Cloud computing powered by a supercomputer to assist astronauts in space | technology

Hewlett-Packard Enterprise said Thursday that a supercomputer of the International Space Station was intended to allow space astronauts to benefit from a "cloud computing" and to make it easier. accelerate their ability to badyze data in orbit. equipment, called The Spaceborne Computer, at the space station in August 2017.

After more than a year of testing, HPE claims that it is ready to offer astronauts the experience of the cloud for the first time – a kind of "cloud". "Above the clouds, so to speak.

"We have met all the requirements of our initial one year agreement. It's a success and we can open it, "said AFP Mark Fernandez, head of technology at HPE.

A super computer is essentially a group of computers working together.

The one on the ISS contains 32 "hearts" and is similar to the kind that HPE sells on Earth. It's 30 to 100 times faster than an iPhone or tablet, Fernandez said.

NASA needed to know that any supercomputer purchased could operate in the hostile environment of space, despite microgravity, radiation, and occasional power outages. The HPE product withstood all tests.

The goal is for astronauts to be able to perform their scientific badyzes in space, without transmitting the data to the Earth.

Currently, the connection between space and the Earth can be slow and unreliable. The connection is often lost and there may be a communication interval of several seconds or more.

million. Fernandez said the new computer was intended to upgrade the user experience, which currently amounts to using an old dial-up modem.

"It's slow, it's intermittent and the latency is high," he said.

With the new system, "the latency will be lower to move my data, the bandwidth will be greater for my content." The data. I will not have any signal loss to transmit my data to Earth, and I will be much more reliable.

During a future trip to Mars, millions of miles away, communication delays could last 20 minutes or more.

Testing such supercomputers in space, at a distance relatively close to 400 km above the Earth, could therefore contribute to the development of future distant-space computers.

a few months, then sent back to Earth in February or March.

First published: Nov. 02, 2018 1:15 PM IST