- Axiom Space and Red Hat deployed Axdcu-1 Prototype Data Center to ISS
- The system uses Microshift Kubernetes, Delta updates and self-healing for orbital conditions
- Researchers expect the processing of local data on the ISS to accelerate experiences
A data center prototype has arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) to test whether terrestrial IT systems can operate in orbit.
The device, called Axdcu-1, was developed by Axiom Space and performs the Red Hat device on-board platform. It was delivered aboard the 33rd commercial mission to replenish SpaceX on August 24. The project, which we have mentioned previously, was sponsored by the ISS national laboratory.
The objective is to see if the data can be processed directly in orbit rather than returned to earth by limited satellite descending bonds.
Data processing in space
The system performs containerized applications, similar to that of modern data centers, but adapted to orbital conditions where connectivity is bad and the equipment must operate independently.
It is built around a light version of Kubernetes called Microshift designed for environments limited to resources, allowing containerized workloads to be updated and managed remotely.
“The platform incorporates automated withdrawals and self-healing capacities thanks to Delta updates and health surveillance,” said Tony James, chief architect of science and space in Red Hat, said Data center knowledge.
Delta software updates only transmit modified parts of the code to minimize the use of bandwidth.
“These features are particularly essential in space, as they serve as a safeguard to allow the system to detect failures and return to a stable state without human intervention,” added James.
Patrick O’Neill, from the ISS National Laboratory, said that the bandwidth limitations have long been a problem for researchers. “Over the years, a limit resource for the research community on the space station has been the transfer of data and the analysis of data in real time,” he said.
Locally processing of data could allow scientists to adjust experiences while it still works, with special benefits expected in life sciences and biomedical research.
Deployment also acts as a test bench for future commercial space stations.
Axiom Space builds its own station, which will need more advanced data processing than the ISS currently provides it.
The containerized approach is intended to support critical AI, automation and mission applications in future orbital platforms.
Axiom is not the only startup for sending data centers to space. Lonestar Data Holdings successfully tested a data center defined by the Software on the ISS in 2021 and 2022, before performing a complete data storage of the surface of the moon in 2024.
