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This beefed-up SSD could one day power space data centers and CDNs in low orbit. Seagate is transporting a 2TB SSD to the ISS with AI workflows on the agenda.

Umito November 5, 2024

Seagate and BAE Systems have tested the first high-capacity data storage solution designed for use in space.

The hardened SSD was evaluated aboard the International Space Station as part of a mission to improve data storage for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, addressing challenges such as heat dissipation, unpressurized environments and the absence of conventional cooling.

This technology could ultimately expand CDNs and support AI-based space applications. By adding storage to satellite infrastructure, AI inference and real-time analytics could reach previously inaccessible regions, providing last-mile connectivity where fiber or cellular networks are absent.

Driven into space

Seagate’s “Space Drive” was part of a larger BAE Systems payload that included Linux-based software for real-time data processing.

This software enables containerized applications that can be updated on-orbit, adapting to the evolving demands of space systems.

Additionally, the payload contained a radio frequency sounder and a dual-band short-wavelength infrared (SWIR) camera to enhance atmospheric measurement capabilities, hurricane modeling, and weather forecasting.

“Our team was able to assemble, integrate and test this payload in just eight months,” said Steve Smith, vice president of engineering, science and analysis at BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. Aerospace manufacturing.

The Seagate 2TB SSD with PCIe Gen3 x4 connectivity, which you can see in the “Terrestrial Demo Unit” photo below, and which Seagate plans to sell in 2025, was specifically designed to withstand the harsh conditions of space . Delivered to the ISS via a NASA resupply mission and assembled by the astronauts on board, the device using Seagate SSDs achieved impressive speeds of over 2 Gbps.

Lasting one year, the mission will end with the return of the payload to Earth for analysis. BAE Systems and Seagate engineers will examine the effects of space exposure on SSD performance and durability and use this data to refine future designs, advancing resilient storage solutions for space applications.

Space Drive Customer Development Unit that Seagate plans to sell in 2025