Among the cargo scheduled to launch into orbit via Northrop Grumman’s resupply mission to the International Space Station on Feb. 20 will be Spaceborne Computer-2, or SBC-2: a Hewlett Packard Enterprise-made edge computing system set to enable in-space, commercial artificial intelligence and real-time data processing capabilities for the first time, HPE detailed Thursday.
Designed explicitly for rugged environments, the machine is expected to accelerate experiments astronauts conduct aboard the ISS—and power Earth-based research selected by HPE through proposals it’s now accepting from anyone across the planet.
SBC-2 will also tap Microsoft’s Azure Space service to connect users on the space station to the Earth, and vice versa, through the cloud. The computer will be installed for the next 2 to 3 years, and is backed by a sponsorship from the ISS U.S. National Laboratory.
“Edge computing provides core capabilities for unique sites that have limited or no connectivity, giving them the power to process and analyze data locally and make critical decisions quickly,” HPE’s General Manager of Converged Edge Systems Shelly Anello said. “As we embark on our next mission in edge computing, we stand ready to power the harshest, most unique edge experience of them all: outer space.”
Sending data to and from Earth is time-consuming and requires a great deal of bandwidth, but with its sophisticated features and server, SBC-2 will be able to tap into information on the spot from an array of sensors, satellites, cameras and other devices. The system will be equipped with certain technologies HPE already incorporates in existing computers it’s developed, which ar ..
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