# HPE Spaceborne Computer: orbital data center program

> United States (United States), big tech. Stage 4 of 7: Payload demo flown. Three ISS flights: SBC-1 (2017), SBC-2 (2021) and an upgraded SBC-2 (2024).

- Canonical page: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers/hpe-spaceborne-computer
- This Markdown version: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers/hpe-spaceborne-computer.md
- Data as of: 2026-10-05 (last evidence review)
- How the numbers are made: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers#method

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## Stage evidence

- Three ISS flights: SBC-1 (2017), SBC-2 (2021) and an upgraded SBC-2 (2024). Sources: [Hewlett Packard Enterprise](https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/press-release/2024/01/hpe-spaceborne-computer-2-returns-to-the-international-space-station.html)

## Key figures

- Storage flown in 2024: 130 TB. Sources: [ISS National Lab](https://issnationallab.org/press-releases/release-ng20-hpe-spaceborne-computer2/)

## Approach

- Orbit: LEO (ISS)
- Architecture: Commercial off-the-shelf servers on the ISS, protected by software hardening rather than rad-hard parts
- Power: ISS-provided
- Cooling: ISS-provided
- Compute: SBC-2: HPE Edgeline EL4000 and ProLiant DL360 with NVIDIA T4 GPUs; 2024 flight added over 130 TB KIOXIA flash
- Customers: NASA, ISS National Lab researchers; Booz Allen and Meta (LLM demos)

## Milestones

| Date | Status | Confidence | Milestone | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2017-08-14 | achieved | Confirmed | Spaceborne Computer-1 to the ISS on CRS-12. About 1 teraFLOP; 9 of 20 SSDs failed during the mission. | [HPCwire](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/hpes-spaceborne-computer-powers-space-achieves-one-teraflop/); [ISS National Lab](https://issnationallab.org/iss360/supercomputing-in-space-hpes-spaceborne-computer-returns/); [The Register](https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/24/updated_hpe_spaceborne_computer2/) |
| 2021-02-20 | achieved | Confirmed | Spaceborne Computer-2 to the ISS on NG-15, linked to Azure. Genomics test processed 182 GB on station and downlinked 13 MB. | [Microsoft Azure](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/genomics-testing-on-the-iss-with-hpe-spaceborne-computer2-and-azure/); [Space.com](https://www.space.com/spaceborne-computer-2-microsoft-hpe-launching-to-space-station) |
| 2024-01-30 | achieved | Confirmed | Upgraded SBC-2 to the ISS on NG-20 with over 130 TB of flash. Most data storage flown to the ISS on one mission (HPE and ISS National Lab). | [Hewlett Packard Enterprise](https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/press-release/2024/01/hpe-spaceborne-computer-2-returns-to-the-international-space-station.html); [ISS National Lab](https://issnationallab.org/press-releases/release-ng20-hpe-spaceborne-computer2/) |

## Announced next steps (as the organisation stated them)

No dated next step announced.

## What to watch (SpaceNexus note, not a prediction)

HPE has announced no commercial orbital data center; it was a member of the ASCEND study consortium.

## Cautions

- Some outlets call the 2024 unit Spaceborne Computer-3; HPE calls it SBC-2 returning.

## Sources

- [Hewlett Packard Enterprise](https://www.hpe.com/us/en/newsroom/press-release/2024/01/hpe-spaceborne-computer-2-returns-to-the-international-space-station.html)
- [ISS National Lab](https://issnationallab.org/press-releases/release-ng20-hpe-spaceborne-computer2/)
- [HPCwire](https://www.hpcwire.com/off-the-wire/hpes-spaceborne-computer-powers-space-achieves-one-teraflop/)
- [ISS National Lab](https://issnationallab.org/iss360/supercomputing-in-space-hpes-spaceborne-computer-returns/)
- [The Register](https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/24/updated_hpe_spaceborne_computer2/)
- [Microsoft Azure](https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/blog/genomics-testing-on-the-iss-with-hpe-spaceborne-computer2-and-azure/)
- [Space.com](https://www.space.com/spaceborne-computer-2-microsoft-hpe-launching-to-space-station)

## Licence and credits

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