Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) said the HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2), the first commercial edge computing and AI-enabled system in space to run on the International Space Station (ISS), has completed 24 research experiments and has demonstrated new possibilities of space exploration and milestones for mankind. “By bringing edge computing and AI capabilities to the International Space Station with Spaceborne Computer-2, we’ve helped nurture a growing, collaborative research community that shares a common goal of achieving scientific and engineering breakthroughs that… benefit humanity in space and here on Earth,” said Dr. Mark Fernandez, Principal Investigator, Spaceborne Computer-2, at HPE.
SBC-2 is part of a larger mission to significantly advance computing and reduce reliance on communications as humans travel farther into space to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The solution also highlights potential ways for astronauts to increase self-sufficiency by processing data directly on the space station in real time, bypassing longer latency and wait times that arise when they rely on raw data for processing, analysis and dispatch back to space, according to a statement from HPE. The new capability would give the space station faster computing power and faster download times to Earth with 20,000x acceleration, it said. HPE launched the Spaceborne Computer-2 in collaboration with the ISS National Laboratory in February 2021 and was installed on the ISS in May 2021.
