Kioxia Joins HPE Servers on Space Launch Destined for International Space Station

SSDs from Kioxia Corporation took flight with the launch of the NG-20 mission rocket, which is delivering an updated HPE Spaceborne Computer-2, based on HPE EdgeLine and ProLiant to the International Space Station (ISS).

Kioxia SSDs provide flash storage in HPE Spaceborne Computer-2 to conduct scientific experiments aboard the space station.

Spaceborne Computer-2, based on commercial off-the-shelf technology, provides edge computing and AI capabilities on board the research outpost as part of a greater mission to advance computing power in space and reduce dependency on communications as space exploration continues to expand.

Designed to perform various HPC workloads in space, including real-time image processing, deep learning, and scientific simulations, Spaceborne Computer-2 can be used to compute a number of experiment types including healthcare, natural DR, 3D printing, 5G, and AI.

As the storage provider for the Spaceborne Computer-2, Kioxia has provided flash memory-based SSDs, including Kioxia RM Series value SAS, PM Series enterprise SAS and XG Series NVMe SSDs, to enable these advancements. In addition to 8×1,024GB NVMe and 4x960GB value SAS SSDs, each of the 4 enterprise SAS SSDs provided have a capacity of 30.72TB for a total of more than 130TB  – the most storage to travel to the space station on a single mission.¹

Flash memory-based SSDs are better-suited than traditional HDD drive storage to withstand the power, performance and reliability requirements of outer space, as they have no moving parts, are less susceptible to electromagnetic waves and provide faster performance. SSD health will be monitored daily throughout the duration of the mission, with daily log files transmitted from the ISS. Kioxia will track and analyze this health data in order to better understand how flash memory storage operates in the harsh environment of space.

“The convergence of memory technology and space exploration are set to take  scientific discovery and innovation beyond the confines of Earth,” said Caesar Ichimura, CMO, Kioxia. “Kioxia is proud to be a part of this mission, taking science and IT to the next level.“

Kioxia has been collaborating with HPE to create storage solutions for years, and the company’s products enable a range of HPE solutions and services, from mobile to the cloud to the enterprise.

“We’re extremely proud to return to space, building upon on the success of the HPE Spaceborne Computer’s previous missions to help enhance the pace of insight and innovation within the scientific community,” said Jim Jackson, CMO, HPE. “We’re pleased to work with Kioxia as we continue to push the boundaries of what HPE’s state-of-the-art, system can do with additional storage, such as enabling much more sophisticated research aboard the space station to help make significant breakthroughs.“

¹ As of January 30, 2024. Kioxia survey.

Definition of capacity: Kioxia defines 1MB as 1,000,000 bytes, a gigabyte (GB) as 1,000,000,000 bytes and 1TB as 1,000,000,000,000 bytes. A computer operating system, however, reports storage capacity using powers of 2 for the definition of 1GB  = 2^30 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes and 1TB = 2^40 bytes = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes and therefore shows less storage capacity. Available storage capacity (including examples of various media files) will vary based on file size, formatting, settings, software and operating system, and/or pre-installed software applications, or media content. Actual formatted capacity may vary.