Nov 14, 2024
A Terrestrial Approach to the Final Frontier
By Jason Cerundolo, CEO Colossus Computing
On Earth, computing has improved exponentially in the last few decades, but has stagnated in space. While we've made remarkable strides in launch capabilities and satellite technologies, our approach to space computing remains surprisingly conservative. At Colossus Computing, we're challenging this paradigm by bringing terrestrial computing philosophies to space – specifically, the power of open-source platforms and general-purpose computing.
Why are we betting on the open source approach?
Because the future of space exploration demands flexibility, scalability, and rapid iteration. The traditional model of highly specialized, custom-built computing modules for space applications, while proven, has created artificial barriers to innovation and dramatically increased costs across the industry.
Our philosophy is simple yet transformative: space-grade computing should leverage the same fundamental principles that have driven the explosive growth in terrestrial computing. At the heart of this approach lies our commitment to Linux as the standard operating system across our entire hardware lineup. This isn't just about using open-source software; it's about embracing an ecosystem that has been battle-tested by millions of developers and proven its reliability across countless applications.
The power of this approach becomes evident when we consider the development cycle for space applications. Traditionally, teams would need to develop specialized software for proprietary platforms, leading to lengthy development cycles and limited reusability. By providing a standardized, Linux-based platform, we enable teams to leverage existing tools, libraries, and development practices they're already familiar with. The result? Dramatically reduced development time and significantly lower costs.
At Colossus, we incorporate popular standards and libraries into our operating system:
Yocto and OpenEmbedded, to build the operating system
Prometheus, for telemetry and monitoring
Kubernetes for orchestrating containerized applications
Standard OS-hardening to comply with DISA STIGs and CIS
But perhaps most importantly, we're moving away from the notion that space computing must be highly specialized. Instead, we're providing high-performance computing platforms that can be configured for any mission profile. Whether you're developing an Earth observation system, a communication satellite, or a scientific payload, the underlying computing architecture remains consistent. This approach allows teams to focus on their specific applications rather than wrestling with proprietary computing architectures.
This shift toward general-purpose computing in space might seem counterintuitive to traditionalists. After all, shouldn't space hardware be as specialized as possible? Our experience suggests otherwise. By providing robust, general-purpose computing platforms with the processing power to handle multiple workloads, we're enabling unprecedented flexibility in mission planning and execution. Need to upgrade your image processing algorithms mid-mission? With our platform, it's as straightforward as deploying new software to a cloud server.
The space industry is evolving rapidly, and our computing platforms must evolve with it. By embracing open-source principles and general-purpose computing, we're not just building hardware – we're creating a foundation for the next generation of space innovation. The future of space exploration will be written in open-source code, running on flexible, powerful computing platforms that can adapt to any mission requirement.
The final frontier demands nothing less than the full power of modern computing. At Colossus we’re making it reality.
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To learn more about how our approach to space computing can transform your mission, reach out to our team at Colossus Computing.