ESA and HPE Inaugurate High-Performance Computing Environment (Space HPC) to Boost European Space Innovation

The European Space Agency (ESA), in collaboration with Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), has launched its high-performance computing (Space HPC) environment at ESRIN, Italy. The facility aims to enhance scientific research, technological development, and innovation within the European space industry. Space HPC will provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) access to resources for data processing, complex simulations, and AI applications. As a demonstrator infrastructure, Space HPC will help industries mitigate risks associated with data processing and modeling. It features scalable capabilities for rapid experimentation and access to testbeds. ESA's Director General, Josef Aschbacher, emphasized the facility's role in supporting research, development, and benchmarking for ESA programs, industrial players, and researchers. Space HPC is designed to complement existing national and European HPC infrastructures, supporting the European Green Deal and Digital Agenda. The Space Safety Programme has already utilized Space HPC to improve space weather modeling, enhancing warnings of solar activity that could impact infrastructure in space and on Earth.