Space HPC: The new ESA supercomputer is born

The opening, on Wednesday 12 March, marks an important milestone in ESA’s mission to push the boundaries of innovation for European space activities. The ceremony was led by ESA’s Director General Josef Aschbacher, alongside ASI president Teodoro Valente, ESA Council Chair Renato Krpoun, and ESA Director of Earth Observation Programmes and Head of ESRIN Simonetta Cheli.

Space HPC is designed to enhance ESA’s scientific research and technological development efforts, while also providing small and medium-enterprises (SMEs) with access to resources that foster innovation and collaboration within the European space industry. The computational environment is designed to process massive datasets, run complex simulations, and accelerate artificial intelligence applications.

As a demonstrator infrastructure, Space HPC will help industries to mitigate risks associated with data processing, modelling, and simulations. Its scalable capabilities will enable rapid experimentation, learning from failures, and fast access to testbeds and demonstration services.