LEOcloud to Demonstrate Space-Based Data Center Onboard ISS

LEOcloud has signed a cooperative agreement with the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space to install a virtualized micro data center on the International Space Station.

The agreement with CASIS, which manages the in-orbit lab, provides LEOcloud the opportunity to demonstrate how the first-generation Space Edge infrastructure-as-a-service offering can enable customers to reserve cloud resources and migrate applications from the terrestrial cloud to the space-based cloud, SpaceNews reported.

Dennis Gatens, LEOcloud CEO and founder, said the company expects the data center to be deployed to the ISS by the end of 2025 and attract customers from organizations performing research and development on commercial space stations, orbiting research platforms and short-duration free flyers and those who plan to conduct in-space analytics using artificial intelligence.

According to Michael Roberts, the ISS National Lab chief scientist, the partnership could advance cloud computing efforts that may produce data solutions for the orbiting lab and future space environments.