Spiral Blue to provide computing for Australian space telescope

Sydney based space computing manufacturer Spiral Blue has announced a partnership with the University of Sydney for the ground-breaking TOLIMAN Space Telescope Mission – Australia’s largest space-based astronomical observatory.

Now under construction, TOLIMAN is a 12.5cm space telescope that will be carried by a 16U CubeSat bus to a 550km sun-synchronous orbit when launched in 2024.

The mission aims to detect potentially habitable worlds in our near solar neighbourhood, the Alpha Centauri system, and follows the success of a Sydney designed experiment operating on similar principles aboard NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope.

The new collaboration combines Spiral Blue’s cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) expertise enabled by its Space Edge Computers (pictured), with the university’s pioneering research in astronomy and exoplanet detection.

The successful launch of Spiral Blue’s latest computer in space, Space Edge One (SE-1), marked a historic milestone as it became the first Australian company to operate an edge computer in orbit.

CEO of Spiral Blue Taofiq Huq said: “Our advanced AI-enabled Space Edge Computers will revolutionise the way we process and analyse space data, pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery.

“Together with the University’s expertise in exoplanet research, we aim to unlock the secrets of potentially habitable worlds beyond our solar system.”

Spiral Blue recently published results of an AI application, Cloud Detect, from space aboard SE-1, the most powerful computer in space outside of a space station, processing satellite images at high speeds.

Equipped with advanced AI capabilities, Spiral Blue’s Space Edge Computing technology enables real-time data processing and analysis in the challenging space environment.

The lead researcher at the University of Sydney Professor Peter Tuthill said that using AI to process data coming from the Centauri star system would help open a window onto the nearby Universe in the search for habitable planets.

Further reading:
Spiral Blue edge computer proven in space
Browse @AuManufacturing’s coverage of Spiral Blue here.

Picture: Spiral Blue