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Supercomputers In Space
Whoa! Check this out, HPE and NASA are teaming up to send a supercomputer to the International Space Station ISS to practice for the Mars Mission that Elon Musk is sponsoring. An informative article is available here: https://www.zdnet.com/article/hpe-nasa-to-launch-a-supercomputer-into-space/
The Spaceborne Computer doesn’t include any hardware modifications. It includes the HPE Apollo 40 class systems with a high speed HPC interconnect running an open-source Linux operating system.
A high-performance commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) computer system has never run in space before. NASA typically only approves computers for space once they’ve been “ruggedized” to withstand variables like radiation, solar flares, micrometeoroids, unstable electrical power and irregular cooling.
However, instead of adding costly and bulky hardware modifications, HPE “hardened” the systems with purpose-built software. The software can manage real-time throttling of the computer systems to respond to radiation events and other external conditions. The system does also include a unique water-cooled enclosure for the hardware.
We call this out because Breakfield & Burkey postulated placing a supercomputer in space in The Enigma Beyond. Of course, we used the more fantastic name JOAN aka Jurisdiction Override for Alternative Normalcy. This is a clip…
