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ZL2VAL > TECHNI 11.08.04 11:27l 77 Lines 3345 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 480034ZL2VAL
Read: GUEST OE7FMI
Subj: Nasa teams to build superputer
Path: DB0FHN<DB0MRW<OK0PPL<DB0RES<ON0AR<7M3TJZ<SP7MGD<ZL2TZE<ZL3VML<ZL2BAU<
ZL2AB
Sent: 040811/0939Z @:ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC #:45410 [New Plymouth] FBB7.00g
From: ZL2VAL@ZL2AB.#46.NZL.OC
To : TECHNI@WW
*New NASA Supercomputer to Aid Theorists and Shuttle Engineers *
*By Tariq Malik
Staff Writer
posted: 09 August 2004
04:00 AM ET
NASA researchers have teamed up with a pair of Silicon Valley firms to
build a supercomputer that ranks alongside the world's largest
Linux-based systems.
When complete, the Space Exploration Simulator supercomputer will
provide 10 times the data-crunching power of NASA's current
supercomputer capacity.
"Our space scientists in the past were starved for [computer] cycles,"
said Walter Brooks, chief of the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS)
division. "Sometimes people would submit an idea and it would take weeks
to get an answer."
Brooks told SPACE.com the new system will allow scientists to run
complicated computer models, such as those used for research into
planetary formation or solar physics, alongside the meticulous space
shuttle engineering studies critical for NASA's return to flight.
NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California -- home to NAS
-- is developing the new supercomputing system as part of its
collaborative Project Columbia with the aid of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
(SGI) and the Intel Corp. in the Silicon Valley.
Plans call for a network of 20 powerful SGI Altix computers, each with
512-processor systems, equipped with 500 terabytes of local data
storage. Once the computers are linked, their 10,240 Intel Itanium 2
processors will power the Space Exploration Simulator over a wide range
of studies, including space shuttle modeling, climate change, mission
safety and aeronautics.
"This will enable NASA to meet its immediate mission-critical
requirements for return to flight, while building a strong foundation
for our space exploration vision and future missions," NASA
Administrator Sean O'Keefe said in a statement.
During the Columbia investigation, engineering and shuttle computer
models took up most of NASA's supercomputing capacity, leaving Earth and
space science studies by the wayside. With the new system, a single
computer node can handle the return to flight shuttle modeling
requirements, opening the rest for scientific research. The space agency
also plans to allow the public science and engineering communities
access to a portion of the Space Exploration Simulator for their own
studies.
Ames and SGI researchers already had one 512-processor Linux computer --
built last year -- named Kalpana in honor of astronaut Kalpana Chawla
who died with her fellow crewmates in the Columbia accident. A second
machine has been linked to it, with the remaining 18 expected to follow
over the next three months.
Since the Space Exploration Simulator relies on off-the-shelf
technology, researchers can upgrade the system as more advanced computer
chips and processors become available. Those internal upgrades are key,
since the 20-computer system has consumed the available space at Ames.
"NASA, 20 years ago, led the way in computing," Brooks said. "When
you're building the world's most complex vehicle, tackling hard problems
like debris and crew escape?we need that kind of computing ability."
73 - Alan, ZL2VAL @ ZL2AB
Message timed: 21:31 on 2004-Aug-11
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