A record 2,897 satellites were launched into orbit around the Earth by more than 50 countries last year, according to Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist known for documenting space activity. An even greater number are expected to be launched in 2024.

All of that contributes to a supernova of new space-based communications and Earth-observation sensor capabilities, says Stephen Kitay, a former Pentagon deputy assistant secretary for space policy, now senior director of Azure Space at Microsoft.

“A huge transformation is happening in space — and the technology that was never there before — effectively extending the internet and edge computing into space,” Kitay said in the report, produced by Scoop News Group and underwritten by Microsoft.

What’s been missing until recently, he says, is a reliable and secure way to manage and transmit the explosive growth of satellite data being collected in space and the means to automate and manage satellite activities more efficiently.

That’s changing as a new era of secure, scalable cloud computing centers strategically located around the globe is developing to stay connected to all those satellites — along with a new generation of software platforms to manage the devices, applications, and data on board all of them, according to the report.

How federal agencies stand to benefit

The report highlights the rise of hybrid space architecture, which Microsoft helped pioneer under the Azure Space banner launched in 2020. The concept involves “bringing cloud and space technologies together to foster a partner ecosystem,” explained Kitay. That effort has spawned a variety of components, including:

• Azure Orbital Ground Station – designed to give satellite operators, including government customers, the ability to deliver space data with near-zero latency to Microsoft’s global network of Microsoft and partner ground stations.
• Azure Orbital Cloud Access – enables a seamless cloud experience anywhere on the planet by combining Microsoft Cloud with low latency satellite and 5G communications.
• Microsoft Planetary Computer – a multi-petabyte catalog of global open geospatial data with intuitive APIs aimed at helping researchers, scientists, students, and organizations worldwide gain valuable insights from Earth observation data.

At the same time, Microsoft is “bringing our code and our software into space by empowering developers to build applications on the ground in the cloud and then seamlessly deploy them on board spacecraft,” Kitay said.

The report also highlights examples of how federal agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture and the Defense Department, among others, stand to gain powerful new insights from Earth observation data to better support their missions.

“Removing the barriers to seamless and secure connectivity from ground to orbit creates entirely new opportunities for federal government customers, including those operating in classified environments,” said Zach Kramer, vice president of the Mission Engineering unit at Microsoft.

“Defense and civilian agencies can leverage this ubiquitous connectivity to develop and deploy new applications, gather and transmit data at the speed of relevance, and gain an information advantage to serve the American people.”

Download the full report.

This article was produced by Scoop News Group, for FedScoop and underwritten by Microsoft.

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Thursday, NASA and Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced that they will test the limits of the term “edge computing” with a new computer designed to deliver artificial intelligence in space. Later this month, the new Spaceborne Computer-2 will become the first high-performance commercial computer to operate in space on the International Space Station.

HPE says Spaceborne Computer-2 will allow astronauts to process data that used to take months in mere minutes. Once launched and assembled in space, NASA will use it for at least the next two years, giving astronauts the power to use AI and other advanced computing capabilities that were once out of reach in space.

Bringing this type of computing capability to space “is just the first step in NASA’s goals for supporting human space travel to the Moon, Mars and beyond where reliable communications is a mission critical need,” HPE said in its release.

“The most important benefit to delivering reliable in-space computing with Spaceborne Computer-2 is making real-time insights a reality. Space explorers can now transform how they conduct research based on readily available data and improve decision-making,” said Dr. Mark Fernandez, HPE’s principal investigator for Spaceborne Computer-2.

Getting and using computers in space is no easy task. First, just putting the hardware into orbit involves shooting it on a rocket — rattling, shaking and jolting through the atmosphere for minutes on end. Once in space, if the computer’s complex circuits still work, the zero-gravity environment and constant exposure to the sun’s radiation present further challenges. However, Spaceborne Computer-2 was built off a prototype launched into orbit in 2017. And HPE specially designed it to sustain operations in space, along with software coded for space-based work.

Astronauts will use the computer to process data from the space station, satellites, cameras and other sensors. Loaded with the necessary graphics processing units (GPUs), Spaceborne Computer-2 will be ready to process everything from photos of polar ice caps to medical images of the astronauts’ health, according to the news release. The GPUs’ processing power will be enough to fuel AI and machine learning capabilities, eliminating the need to send data back to earth for ground-based processing.

“Edge computing provides core capabilities for unique sites that have limited or no connectivity, giving them the power to process and analyze data locally and make critical decisions quickly,” said Shelly Anello, general manager of converged edge systems at HPE.

HPE partnered with Microsoft Azure to provide additional compute resources through its Azure Space cloud capability recently launched to support NASA, Space Force and other partners.

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The company announced the launch of Azure Space on Tuesday with partnerships across the space industry targeting both private and public customers interested in the great beyond.

Azure Space will serve those looking to store space-based data as well as ground-based consumers seeking to benefit from the expanded connectivity Azure Space will provide. The service will link Azure’s existing cloud platform with new data centers and a network of satellites launched by private companies like SpaceX — even joining up with Starlink, the innovative company’s plan to use satellites to bring high-speed internet across the globe.

The Department of Defense could be a major beneficiary of this new service line, given the groundwork Microsoft has laid with the military services in recent years. The company won the Department of Defense‘s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) cloud contract, which is awaiting the go-ahead as the procurement is under protest. And Azure recently earned high-level security certifications to handle sensitive DOD data.

“Our approach helps to address some of the toughest technology challenges that our customers face in space: dealing with the vast amount of data generated from satellites, bringing cloud services and bandwidth to the most remote locations, and designing highly complex space systems,” Tom Keane, corporate vice president for Azure Global, said in an announcement.

The recently created Space Force could be one of Azure Space’s first targets for potential government customers as the company already works on the Air Force‘s Commercially Augmented Space Inter Networked Operations (CASINO) project to store and manage space data collected by satellites. Azure Space will generate similar work for Microsoft, which has sought to expand its work with the DOD.

The new project comes after the company launched its ground-stations-as-a-service program, Azure Orbital in September. The two programs together will allow customers to manage data in Azure while using the company’s ground stations to down- and up-link data between space and Earth.

Microsoft, however, isn’t alone in recognizing the need for cloud storage and data processing power for the massive amounts of data satellites generate. Its biggest competitor Amazon was the first cloud service provider to venture into this new world launching its Aerospace and Satellites Solutions division earlier this year, headed by retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Clint Crosier, the former director of planning for the U.S. Space Force. And nearly two years before that, Amazon Web Services made its first bet on space with the introduction of its Ground Station platform — a fully managed service to allow customers to use the cloud to more easily connect to orbiting satellites and downlink and process their space data.

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