Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) said the HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2), the first in-space commercial edge computing and AI-enabled system to run on the International Space Station (ISS), has completed 24 research experiments, demonstrating new possibilities for space exploration and milestones for humanity. “By introducing edge computing and AI capabilities to the International Space Station with Spaceborne Computer-2, we have helped foster a growing, collaborative research community that shares a common goal to make scientific and engineering breakthroughs that benefit humankind, in space and here on Earth,” said Dr. Mark Fernandez, principal investigator, Spaceborne Computer-2, at HPE.
SBC-2 is part of a greater mission to significantly advance computing and reduce dependence on communications as humans travel farther into space to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The solution also demonstrates potential ways astronauts can increase self-sufficiency when processing data directly on the space station, in real-time, bypassing longer latency and wait times that occur when relying on sending raw data to Earth to be processed, analysed, and sent back to space, as per a statement from HPE. The new capability would enable the space station with faster computing and shorter download times to Earth with 20,000X speed-up, it said. HPE launched Spaceborne Computer-2, in collaboration with the ISS National Laboratory, to space in February 2021 and was installed on the ISS in May 2021.
