Axiom Space plans to send a shoebox-sized node running Red Hat Device Edge to the International Space Station (ISS).
Axiom Space’s Data Center Unit-1 (credit: Axiom Space) – click to enlarge
The Data Center Unit-1 (AxDCU-1) is a processing prototype that will conduct tests aboard the ISS and demonstrate initial Orbital Data Center (ODC) aptness.
It all sounds rather grand for something that resembles a glorified shoebox. HPE has sent up a succession of Spaceborne computers – commercial, off-the-shelf supercomputers – over the years to test storage, recovery, and operational potential on long-duration missions. At the other end of the scale, the European Space Agency (ESA) has run Raspberry Pi computers on the ISS for years as part of the AstroPi educational outreach program.
AxDCU-1 seems to fit between the two. Axiom Space said: “The prototype will test applications in cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and machine learning(AI/ML), data fusion and space cybersecurity.”
Space is an ideal environment for edge devices. Connectivity to datacenters on Earth is severely constrained, so the more processing that can be done before data is transmitted to a terrestrial receiving station, the better.
Tony James, chief architect, Science and Space at Red Hat, said: “Off-planet data processing is the next frontier, and edge computing is a crucial component. With Red Hat Device Edge and in collaboration with Axiom Space, Earth-based mission partners will have the capabilities necessary to make real-time decisions in space with greater reliability and consistency.”
Red Hat’s software is also present in the considerably beefier Spaceborne computer. The Red Hat Device Edge software used by Axiom’s device combines Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the Red Hat Ansible Platform, and MicroShift, a lightweight Kubernetes container orchestration service derived from Red Hat OpenShift.
The plan is for Axiom Space to host hybrid cloud applications and cloud-native workloads on-orbit.
Jason Aspiotis, global director of in-space data and security, Axiom Space, told The Register that the hardware itself is a commercial off-the-shelf unit designed for operation in harsh environments. It will be integrated into the ISS like any other hosted payload operated on the station, he added.
As for device access, Aspiotis said, “AxDCU-1 will have the ability to be controlled and utilized either via ground-to-space or space-to-space communications links.
“Our current plans are to maintain this device on the ISS. We plan to utilize this asset for at least two years.”
Axiom wasn’t able to share anything concrete about a launch date beyond Spring 2025. Part of this might be down to damage sustained by the shipping container carrying the Cygnus Cargo Module for Northrop Grumman’s next ISS resupply flight in June, which could result in a delay.
NASA has opted to tweak the cargo manifest for April’s Dragon mission to include more consumables. ®
