New Delhi: In a written response to a question posed in the Rajya Sabha on what ISRO is doing towards establishing physical data centres in space for processing
satellite data in orbit, State Minister for Space Jitendra Singh revealed that ISRO is working on a variety of next-generation satellite technologies, including on-board data processing and storage. India does not have the capabilities of building data centres on the ground using domestic hardware, and the fabrication of CPUs and GPUs that can withstand the harsh environment of outer space needs to be pursued, along with technologies necessary to secure orbital assets. A preliminary study has been conducted within ISRO to explore edge computing infrastructure in space.
In his response, Singh noted “ISRO is engaged in the study of various next generation satellite technologies that also include on-board data processing and data storage. 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 application such as Disaster management and strategic applications. Further, on-board processing enables flexibility for communication satellites, as the satellite can be reconfigured in-orbit.”
Edge Computing in Space
A conventional Earth Observation Satellite observes the Earth through optical, thermal, hyperspectral or synthetic aperture radar payloads. These are then transmitted to the ground, where the data is analysed for actionable insights into a particular domain, to say assess the health of mangroves, prospect for minerals, or manage resources. The idea of edge computing is to load the relevant model on the satellite itself, so it can provide rapid actionable insights for critical applications such as spotting oil spills or forest fires. A number of New Space startups in the country are exploring this technology including SkyServe and TakeMe2Space that has demonstrated an AI payload on ISRO’s POEM-4 platform.
