Accelerating Space Exploration with the HPE Spaceborne Computer
HPE and NASA collaborate to put a commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) supercomputer aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The ultimate goal?
Prove the technology's ability to operate in the harsh conditions of space while performing data center-level compute processing at the edge.
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Spaceborne’s journey
HPE and NASA collaborated to test if affordable, off the shelf servers could withstand the harsh conditions of space and provide reliable computing aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
Highlights of this collaborative journey include:
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2017
HPE Spaceborne Computer Successfully Reaches and Powers Up in Space
2018
HPE Spaceborne Computer Open for Supercomputing Use on the ISS
2019
HPE Spaceborne Computer Returns to Earth
2020
Next Version of HPE Spaceborne Computer Handed Over to NASA
2021
Spaceborne Computer-2 Launched Into Space
Solution components
The HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 will simulate computational loads during actual space travel via data intensive applications.
The following components serve as the foundation to simulate these loads.
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Delivering enterprise IT capabilities in a ruggedized system designed for the harsh operating environments found at the edge.
Delivering unmatched workload optimization, security, and automation.
Continuously collaborating, building, validating, and delivering secure, innovative, production-level HPC solutions with leading-edge technologies and services.
Increasing uptime within a data center by protecting against faults and enabling downtime-free maintenance and upgrades.
Use the International Space Station as your own research lab!
HPE and the ISS National Lab invite proposals to perform experiments on the ISS utilizing the HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2).
Submit your proposal
Past experiments
For 20 years, students have designed, built, launched, and operated their own experiments on the ISS doing such things as controlling robots, analyzing space imagery, communicating via radio from the ground to space and back, and conducting cutting-edge genetic research. Have an experiment you’d like to perform on the ISS? Perhaps your experiment will be next!
Take a closer look
Bryan Dansberry, Education Specialist at NASA Johnson Space Center, and Mark Fernandez, Principal Investigator for the Spaceborne Computer-2 project at HPE, discuss the upcoming deployment of the Spaceborne Computer-2 project on the ISS and the benefits exascale computing will have on space research and missions to colonize other planets.
For nearly 20 years, astronauts have been continuously living and working onboard the ISS. These discoveries showcase the diversity of the research and technology development conducted onboard the space station over the last two decades—with some of this science supported by partners like HPE.
Read the latest press releases
11/12/2020
20 Years of Student Experiments Using the International Space Station
9/28/2020
Hewlett Packard Enterprise teams up with NASA to develop Spaceborne supercomputer
6/1/2020
Is open sourcing the next frontier in space exploration?
8/25/2019
HPE builds supercomputer for NASA, aimed at future moon missions
6/10/2019
The Spaceborne Computer Returns to Earth, and HPE Eyes an AI-Protected Spaceborne 2