Cloud computing has revolutionized all kinds of business and work environments, but one of the biggest players in the industry now hopes that it can also help speed up the next big breakthroughs in the space.
Speaking at the recent AWS re:Invent 2022 event, Clint Crosier, the company's director of aerospace and satellites, explained how the company strongly supports the use of cloud computing in space.
During a panel discussion with Peggy Whitson, an astronaut and director of human spaceflight at Axiom, Crosier described "what we at AWS call making the world a better place from a space mission."
the space race
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has funded several space-related projects through his company Blue Origin, but the cloud arm of his former company clearly sees space as the next big frontier for technology.
AWS recently revealed that it successfully tested its software package on a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite for the first time earlier this year. The test included successful downlinks of satellite image data, and the software automatically reviewed the images to decide which were most useful to send back to Earth.
Crosier explained that NASA's recent transfer of other LEO activities to private companies like Blue Origin could be a good thing for scientific discovery, with companies like Whitson's Axiom taking on "mundane" tasks that will allow NASA to move on to the next. Big project.
Crosier, who admitted he became "a cloud fanatic" during his time at AWS, explained how future space businesses like satellite repair, asteroid mining, and even tourism and space exploration will require greater computing capabilities, as well as increased processing speed and power, which the cloud can help provide.
"What the cloud allows you to do is build infrastructure, play (with it) to come up with optimal designs...then, with two or three clicks of a button, you can upload it to the ISS - it's a game changer," The I feel it.
"What really excites me about the application of technology is that it seems like every year we find a new way to use space capabilities that we didn't know about before that actually improves lives and, in some cases, saves lives. I love that the Advanced technical cloud capabilities support this mission to do this faster and more efficiently than ever before.
"Just as Earth has benefited from the Earth cloud... all the new missions we see emerging in space will require the same advanced cloud-based technology," he said, "so our focus at AWS is to bring this wherever customers need it.