The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is studying the feasibility of deploying data centres in space, and an internal preliminary study has been completed on it. The Department of Space revealed this in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.
In response to a question by BJP MP Kartikeya Sharma, the Department of Space stated that ISRO is engaged in the study of various next-generation satellite technologies, and this includes on-board data processing and data storage. Sharma had asked whether the ISRO is examining the feasibility of establishing physical data centres in space for on-orbit processing and storage of satellite and communication data.
The reply stated that ISRO has conducted preliminary evaluations on on-board data processing and data storage, and the study has indicated that developing a proof of concept on edge computing infrastructure in space is feasible. The Department of space, which is under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, added in the reply that such a system is being conceived.
However, it was only a preliminary study, and several new technologies have to be developed to make a full-fledged edge computing infrastructure a reality. This includes in-orbit power generation, radiation-hardened GPUs/ CPUs, security shields for orbiting satellites, and others.
Data centres on earth are power guzzlers; therefore, space data centres will require highly power-efficient equipment to run on solar and battery power. The electronics will also need to be protected from the space radiation, which is not an issue on Earth, as most such radiation is absorbed by the atmosphere and doesn’t reach the ground.
As per the ministry, the Satellites equipped with on-board data processing would enable transmission of only the required information to the ground, hence reducing latency for time-critical applications such as Disaster management and strategic applications. This means, apart from acquiring information, the onboard data centres also process such information, providing faster results.
Further, on-board processing enables flexibility for communication satellites, as the satellite can be reconfigured in-orbit.
Edge computing refers to a distributed computing model that brings computation and data storage closer to the source of the data, instead of sending data to a centralised cloud or data centre for processing. What ISRO is studying is Satellite Edge Computing or Space Edge Computing, where the computing is moved to space.
