The International Space Station will soon get a delivery of powerful AI, edge and cloud computing tools from HPE and Microsoft Azure to expand technology experiments aimed at preparing NASA for launching future crewed exploratory missions to Mars.
The new equipment and software, including HPEs specialized, second-generation Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2), will mark the first time that broad AI and edge computing capabilities will be available to researchers on the space station, Tom Keane, Microsofts vice president of Azure Global, wrote in a Feb. 11 post on the Azure blog.
The new hardware, software and services are scheduled for launch to the ISS at 12:36 p.m. on Feb. 20 aboard Northrop Grummans 15th(NG-15) Commercial Resupply Services cargo mission. The NG-15 missions launch from the Wallops Flight Facility at Wallops Island, Virginia, is contracted by NASA to bring needed supplies.
The new SBC-2 computer thats heading to the space station follows the original Spaceborne Computer-1 that was sent to the ISS in 2017 as part of a validation study to test it in the rigors of space aboard the orbiting laboratory. SBC-1 returned to earth in 2019 after completing its mission. Both Spaceborne Computer-1 and Spaceborne Computer-2 are sponsored by the ISS National Lab.
SBC-2 will bring ISS researchers a wide range of new capabilities they did not have with the original Spaceborne machine from 2017 to 2019, Dr. Mark Fernandez, solution architect for converged edge systems at HPE and principal investigator for SBC-2 told HPCwire sister site EnterpriseAI. Technological advancements in AI, cloud and more will provide more possibilities in the new machine for ISS researchers, he said.
Hardware-wise, were sending up the HPE Edgeline Converged EL4000 Edge system, which is purpose-engineered and built to operate on the edge and take advantage of AI and ML capabilities with its onboard Nvidia T4 GPUs, said Fernandez. These are enterprise-class, commercial off-the-shelf servers that go into data centers.
Featuring CPUs and GPUs
The Edgeline EL4000 servers will use Nvidia T4 GPUs for AI and machine learning, image processing, video processing and other tasks. Previously, the first SBC-1 used CPUs for those tasks. The latest SBC-2 will include CPUs and GPUs to allow for comparison performance experimentation in space.
The 1U boxes insert into standard data center 19-inch racks on the ISS. The racks are then inserted into lockers aboard the ISS to hold them securely. Also provided are an enterprise-class compute node, HPEs ProLiant DL360, for intense compute requirements, said Fernandez.
For the second generation of the SBC, NASA asked HPE to send up twice the compute power of the original version, said Fernandez. So, were sending up twice the number of servers. Youll see two lockers and each contains two servers.
One is a CPU-based Intel server for those that love Intel and traditional computing, and well have a GPU-based Edgeline server for those that are doing image processing, artificial intelligence, machine learning, etc., said Fernandez.
NASA asked for double the computing power in the SBC-2 so the agency can continue its work toward sending humans to Mars, he said. SBC-1 was a proof-of-concept device for 18 months and now the new SBC-2 will be tested to see how it reacts to two to three years in space to accommodate a mission to Mars, he added.
Azure in Space
The Azure cloud capabilities will be used with the machines to allow experiments with getting data back and forth from the ISS to Earth as quickly and efficiently as possible, said Fernandez. Such data transfers are done today using existing NASA technologies.
The ISS is only 220 miles up in Earth orbit, but the networking is circa-1980, said Fernandez. We have speeds of two megabits a second up and down to the ISS. I have 50 megabits a second in my home.
Increasing those speeds will be critical for Mars missions, he said.
Microsoft is enabling that, and they have aspirational plans to come up with some AI and machine learning that well look at, said Fernandez. One idea they will look at is running data on SBC-2 and then sending small amounts of data back to Earth, and then comparing that to bursting data to Azure and seeing what works faster.
Were sitting right on top of the same NASA network, but were going to encode and compress messages back and forth in order to take the most advantage of that two megabytes per second, he said. I have a brilliant scientist who is going to run the same experiment on CPUs, on GPUs and in the cloud. And he will report back to the community, if you have this type of data, its best if you process it this way because we are given those three options.
The experiments will begin after the equipment arrives at the ISS and following their installation and setup. Those tasks are expected to take some time to complete, including several days for the cargo mission to arrive at the space station. Weve got three pre-canned experiments for three different users that were going to hope to fire off right away, said Fernandez.
How Azure Views Its Mission Aboard the ISS
The crux of this work is about making the capabilities of Azure available toastronauts, space explorers andresearchers to learn and advance science and the use of the cloud to support their goals, a Microsoft spokesperson told EnterpriseAI. Through this project we will be able to continue to gain knowledge onhow wecanbest support thescience andresearch community, wherever they are, on and off the planet.
With SBC-2, Microsofts research and Azure space engineering teams are evaluating the potential of HPEs [space-based] state-of-the-art processing in conjunction with hyperscale Azure, alongside the development of advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning models to support new insights and research advancements, the spokesperson said.
That includes weather-modeling of dust storms to enable future modeling for Mars missions, plant and hydroponics analysis to support food growth and life sciences in space, and medical imaging experiments using an ultrasound on the ISS to support astronaut healthcare.Also being created is a platform for the development and testing of hybrid edge-cloud environments before contributing additional experiments to the ISS.
We are exploring the potential of empoweringexciting newexperiments thatleveragethe far-reaching potential of the cloudin conjunction with theHPE Edge capabilities, the spokesperson said. To date, researchershavehad tooften limitthe scope of theirstudytowhat computationalresources theyhadavailable to conduct their research.
Using bursting capabilities with Azure will add to future capabilities, according to Microsoft. Bursting down to the cloud provides access to more computation/resources than can be hosted in the ISS, while leveraging SBC-2s power and proximityat the edge, the spokesperson said. We are excitedto empower others, even in space,tobeable to leveragethe power ofMicrosoftAzuremaking it possible forastronauts, space explorers, andresearchers to thinkbig astheytackle theirtoughestquestions.
See the rest here:
Microsoft, HPE Bringing AI, Edge, Cloud to Earth Orbit in Preparation for Mars Missions - HPCwire
- Open source cloud computing slow to catch on, survey finds [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Oracle CFO: no acquisitions needed to compete in cloud [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- IDC Survey: U.S. Corporations Aim to Tackle IT Challenges with Cloud Computing [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Where does the ICO's new cloud guidance take you? [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- ChinaSoft International Signs Strategic Cooperation Agreement with Alibaba Cloud Computing to Develop PaaS Platform [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- IT Leaders Forum: Shedding light on cloud computing [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Oracle Public Cloud Computing [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Oracle Cloud Computing - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Cloud Computing 101 - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Lenovo Gets Into Cloud Computing - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Cloud Computing Certification Training | Cloud Computing Training By Simplilearn - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Cloud Computing - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Succeeding or Failing with Cloud Computing - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Demystifying the Cloud - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- N: Cloud Computing, Syria PM Defects, US to Clean Agent Orange and MORE! - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Cloud Computing - Tv9 - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- AWS 101 Cloud Computing Seminar-Bangalore - Video [Last Updated On: October 5th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 5th, 2012]
- Trust - The Key to Cloud Computing Growth in Europe [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2012]
- Cloud Computing Saves Health Care Industry Time And Money [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2012]
- Synnex CEO Kevin Murai: Tablets, Mobile, Cloud Computing (p3) - Video [Last Updated On: October 6th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 6th, 2012]
- Enterprise computing IS the cloud [Last Updated On: October 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 8th, 2012]
- 44 Percent Of US Execs To Tackle IT Challenges Through Cloud [Last Updated On: October 8th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 8th, 2012]
- ZapThink Announces Expansion of Cloud Computing for Architects Course [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2012]
- Euro Zone Eyes Cloud Computing to Kick Start Economy [Last Updated On: October 9th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 9th, 2012]
- Advantages, challenges of cloud computing discussed Oct. 10 at NJIT [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Dell Expands Cloud Client Computing Solutions for VMware View®, Desktop as a Service and Channel Offerings to Europe [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- Cloud West to Focus on Entertainment Delivery, Network Infrastructure, and Investment, More at Nov. 8-9th Forum [Last Updated On: October 10th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 10th, 2012]
- IBM, AT&T Offer Secure Passage to the Cloud [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- Cloud computing company hits new fundraising heights [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- Cloud computing firm hits new fundraising heights [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- Cloud computing: here we go again [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- Chinese Want to Put Computer 'Brains' in the Cloud [Last Updated On: October 11th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 11th, 2012]
- CenturyLink Unveils Cloud Product [Last Updated On: October 12th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 12th, 2012]
- Cloud Security Evolves in Wellington [Last Updated On: October 14th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 14th, 2012]
- 2X ApplicationServer XG Joins the Intel AppUp SMB Service Hybrid Cloud [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2012]
- Piston Cloud to Exhibit and Present at the 2012 OpenStack Summit in San Diego [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2012]
- How to get your first cloud computing job [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2012]
- DreamHost Adds Public Cloud Computing Service: DreamCompute [Last Updated On: October 15th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 15th, 2012]
- Aryaka Receives 2012 Cloud Computing Excellence Award [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Making a Europe fit for the cloud [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Cisco Execs Plumb The Limits Of Cloud Computing [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Cloud firm invests in new network [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- AirWatch Receives 2012 Cloud Computing Excellence Award [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Dell Extends Cloud Client Computing Portfolio with New Solutions Validated by Citrix [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Pano Logic and Alliance InfoSystems Join Forces to Deliver Zero Client Computing [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- 5 Cloud Business Benefits [Last Updated On: October 17th, 2012] [Originally Added On: October 17th, 2012]
- Alteva Receives 2012 Cloud Computing Excellence Award [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Open Text profit beats estimates on cloud services [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Cloud computing improves nurse call system [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Cloud computing: Top five tax considerations for your business [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- OKI and ISID to Provide Chemical Information System as Cloud Computing Services [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- As Mobile Grows, So Does Cloud Computing [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- IBM Analytical Decision Management SaaS - IBM Cloud TechTalk October 2012 - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- JAX London 2012: Achieving genuine elastic multitenancy with Waratek Cloud VM for Java - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Microsoft 2020 technology future vision - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Infinity Cloud Point of Sale and Complete Retail Suite.mp4 - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Small Business IT Support, Computer Support, Web Design Atlanta - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Cloud Computing - Simplified - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- How Allied Valve Used the Cloud to Expand in Bakken Oilfield - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Cloud Computing in the Public Sector - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Cloud Computing | Sacramento | Data Protection | IT Consulting | Symmetry Managed Servces - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- The Business Value of Cloud Computing - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- GYMNAZO Owner/Coach Michael Hughes is excited about edufii - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Automation in the age of cloud computing - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Cloud Computing.mp4 - Video [Last Updated On: November 1st, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 1st, 2012]
- Cloud computing in 2013: a conversation with Appcore's CEO [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Cloud adoption growing in India: study [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Eastday-Microsoft picks city for cloud computing [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Towards a blue sky: How SMEs can avoid Cloud Computing confusion [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Consultancy Services - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Axxis Solutions Sponsors FIBA Technical Seminar on Cloud Computing - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- RightScale Webinar: 451 Research Webinar: Cloud Dos and Don'ts - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Apple Technology (Vishwa Bandhu Gupta) - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Mind Tree Ltd. - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- BIM Cloud Computing [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Entreda discusses cloud services for small and medium businesses - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Austin IT Company | Computer Networking [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- Cloud Computing and Services - After Effects Template - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- FieldStorm App Tour - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]
- The Hon Brendan O'Connor's speech: AccountRight Live launch event - Video [Last Updated On: November 3rd, 2012] [Originally Added On: November 3rd, 2012]