Monday, August 16, 2010

HP networked the International Space Station to have Internet in Space

http://www.hp.com/united-states/do-amazing/index.html?#/Space

ProCurve Networking and
the International Space Station

If you’re looking for a demanding network environment, it doesn’t get much more challenging than the high-risk rigors of space. ProCurve Networking by HP faced its first off-world test in February 2008. With the launch of the Columbus module aboard the Space Shuttle, ProCurve became the first Ethernet switching solution on the International Space Station (ISS).

EADS Astrium Space Transportation examined every possibility for equipping European Columbus module with Ethernet networking equipment. The Columbus module is designed to enable scientific organizations and businesses to conduct research and experiments on the ISS. The ProCurve LAN will connect the research module internally, allowing uninterrupted data exchange between the Space Station and its communications system.

"To put it simply, ProCurve was the only networking vendor whose switches offered us the level of reliability and performance required to handle the intense demands on board Columbus," said Rolf Schmidhuber, Columbus Data Management System Engineer for EADS Astrium Space Transportation.

Three computers manage the IT tasks on the Columbus, carrying out functions such as data acquisition, data transmission to ground stations and initiation of scheduled IT activities. The computers are networked via a 10 Mbit/second Ethernet in half-duplex mode. Thanks to the ProCurve switching capabilities, the payload systems now can be networked at 10 Mbit/second or 100 Mbit/second (full duplex mode). In the center of the network are two redundantly networked Columbus LAN switches, developed by EADS Astrium.

EADS Astrium Space Transportation began its search for a networking vendor at the beginning of 2003. Its requirements for the LAN included a high-performance, reliable, highly resistant and managed Ethernet network that would enable scientists on board the Columbus module the maximum research possibilities in a zero-gravity environment. The network needed to be absolutely reliable and have a service life of at least 10 years.

After testing devices from manufacturers that included Avaya, Cisco, D-Link, Netgear and 3Com, only the ProCurve 2524 switch met all the ISS’s requirements for performance, robustness, reliability, radiation/mechanical resistance and management features.

ProCurve’s launch on board the Columbus represents the first time there is a fully functional, production Ethernet network operating on the ISS. It also represents a hard-to-beat example of the capabilities and reliability of ProCurve switches.

http://h10144.www1.hp.com/iss/