• DLR is developing distributed and heterogeneous on-board computers for future space missions.
• Combination of radiation-resistant and commercially available processors that monitor each other and redistribute tasks in the event of an error.
• Successful experiment with Earth observation data on an ESA test satellite.
• Focus: space travel, earth observation, technology

COLOGNE, Germany (DLR PR) — Reliable and powerful computers play a central role in space travel: computer systems in satellites, for example, enable demanding earth observation missions. The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is developing a new computer architecture that is intended to give the so-called on-board computers (OBC) more power and also enable them to repair themselves. Distributed heterogeneous OBCs are being developed in the ScOSA (Scalable On-Board Computing for Space Avionics) flight experiment project. You have different computing nodes connected as a network.

PARIS (ESA PR) — Could we capitalise on the Earth-based digital revolution to make our satellites smarter?

ESA Discovery is funding 12 projects that will explore the potential of applying the latest developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced computing paradigms to make satellites more reactive, agile and autonomous. This could generate new practical applications that support life on Earth and our exploration of other planets.

PARIS (ESA PR) — ESA’s OPS-SAT is a Swiss army knife in orbit. The 30-cm CubeSat packs a powerful onboard computer and an array of instruments that make it the ideal laboratory for testing innovative new technologies in space.

Thanks to the ESA Discovery programme, 12 new experiments will be doing just that, as they develop software, concepts and protocols that push the robust CubeSat to its limits and that could one day be essential parts of future spacecraft missions.

DARMSTADT, Germany (ESA PR) — Yesterday, ESA’s orbiting laboratory, OPS-SAT, hosted the first-ever stock trade in space. The successful experiment required developers at Europe’s leading online broker flatexDEGIRO to think far outside of the box and adapt their software to the technical demands and constrained bandwidth found on an orbiting platform at 500 km altitude.

The experiment provided a unique opportunity to test how to improve the reliability, storage efficiency, communication and security of financial transactions, some of the fundamental requirements for any trading business aiming to compete on a global stage.

Exodus Orbitals, a Canadian startup developing an innovative “satellites-as-a-service” platform, is one of five recent graduates from Australia’s first space-focused incubator program — Moonshot.

TORONTO, August 10, 2021 (Exodus Orbitals PR)  — Having successfully graduated from the 12-week Moonshot program, Exodus Orbitals are aiming to make space exploration more accessible for businesses across a wide range of sectors. They are building an ambitious solution for the challenges of the space industry, offering a way for customers to run their software payloads on a shared “satellite-as-a-service” platform.

With Exodus Orbitals, businesses will no longer have to pay the price of a full satellite mission, instead saving money and time by booking time, sharing hardware and running their applications directly on the satellite on-board computer. This groundbreaking approach dramatically lowers cost for businesses and allows almost instant access for hundreds of application cases in Earth Observation, Communication and Surveillance domains.

• Maintaining safety of operations and maximising scientific return are key concerns as satellites increase in number and complexity
• Artificial intelligence offers promising solutions to modern spaceflight challenges
• ESA and Germany’s DFKI institute have launched a new lab ‘ESA_Lab@DFKI’ for artificial intelligence research

KAISERLAUTERN, Germany (ESA PR) — It’s 4 October 1957, and the Soviet Union has just lofted humanity’s first satellite – Sputnik 1 – into the pristine orbital environment around Earth, marking the start of the Space Age.

Throughout 1960s and 70s, launches quickly increase, as the USA, Soviet Union and other countries race for space, discovering and utilising the immense value of the ‘orbital pathways’ above us – a precious, limited natural resource.

PARIS (ESA PR) — OPS-SAT is the world’s first open, in-orbit testbed for new spacecraft software and applications. By conducting low-cost, low-risk experiments with OPS-SAT, teams from across Europe are ushering in a new era for European spaceflight innovation and commercial opportunity.

• OPS-SAT’s commissioning phase ended in September and the first experiments are now being carried out in orbit
• Innovative new technologies are being tested on OPS-SAT in areas such as artificial intelligence, data compression, and space-based web services
• Initial experimental results have exceeded expectations
• Results from many more experiments expected soon

PARIS (CNES PR) — On Tuesday 17 December, Soyuz will lift off for the 23rd time from the Guiana Space Centre (CSG), Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana, carrying COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation for the Italian space agency ASI and the Italian Ministry of Defence, CHEOPS for the European Space Agency (ESA), ANGELS and EyeSat for CNES, and OPS-SAT for operator Tyvak on behalf of ESA.

PARIS (ESA PR) — This coming Tuesday, ESA is launching the most powerful flight computer ever flown in space – inside a satellite smaller than a shoebox. The OPS-SAT nanosatellite will be the world’s first orbiting software laboratory, available to test novel methods of operating missions in actual space conditions.

OPS-SAT is ESA’s latest technology CubeSat – a small satellite based on standardised 10 cm boxes, much cheaper and quicker to build than traditional missions.

PARIS (ESA PR) — On 17 December, ESA will launch a first-of-its-kind space laboratory, OPS-SAT. The small, low-cost test satellite has been specifically designed for operational experiments in space, and includes the most powerful flight computer on board any current ESA spacecraft. Consumer electronics have gone through a revolution over the last 30 years with computers becoming ever faster, smaller and better. But when it comes to million- or even […]