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 aimed to provide space astronauts with cloud computing and accelerate their ability to analyze data in orbit.

A SpaceX cargo capsule delivered the equipment, called The Spaceborne Computer, to the space station in August 2017.

After more than a year of testing, HPE said it was ready to offer astronauts the first cloud experience – a kind of "cloud" over the clouds, to so to speak.

"We met all the requirements of our initial one-year contract. It's a success and we can open it, "Mark Fernandez, HPE Technology Manager, told AFP.

A super computer is essentially a group of computers that work together.

That of the ISS contains 32 "nuclei" and is similar to the one 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, in the presence of microgravity, radiation and occasional power outages. The HPE product withstood all tests.

The goal is for astronauts to be able to carry out their scientific analyzes in space without transmitting the data to the Earth beforehand.

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

Fernandez said the new computer was aimed at improving the experience – currently, it's a bit like 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 to move my data. I will have no loss of signal to transmit my data to Earth, and I will be much more reliable. "

On 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 of nearly 400 km above the Earth, could therefore contribute to the development of future deep-space computers.

The space computer will be tested by scientists for only a few months, then returned to Earth in February or March.

First published: November 02, 2018 13:15 IST