Alter Technology: Big Data for space flight

31 May 2018

The aerospace industry is in a state of flux. Increasing numbers of young companies are sending satellites into space. Until now, the wealth of experience gleaned by their predecessors has not generally been available to them. To address this deficit, the experts from ALTER TECHNOLOGY have developed a Big-Data-based search engine for satellite components.

The excitement is still evident in José Carlos Muñoz's voice, even over the phone from his office in Seville. "In 2015, our Market and Innovation Analysis team came up with the idea of using big data for the space industry. That was the beginning of Gateway," he says. The 36-year-old electrical engineer leads a seven-member team at Alter Technology (ATN). Their mission is to make all available knowledge about the components and systems used in the space industry accessible through Gateway, helping to drive technological innovation in space more efficiently.

The world's data volume is expected to require 163 zettabytes of storage by 2025.

This ambitious initiative is driven by an impressive figure: according to a joint forecast by hard drive manufacturer Seagate and IT market analyst IDC, the world's total data volume will require 163 zettabytes of storage by 2025. That is roughly equivalent to the storage capacity of 40 trillion DVDs. Compared with 2016, this represents a tenfold increase. As a result, data transmission capacity—particularly for industrial applications—must also expand significantly. It is therefore no surprise that the space industry is booming. Satellites can help meet the growing global demand for broadband connectivity. At Intelsat, a commercial satellite services provider since 1965, the deployment of new high-capacity satellites is already seen as a "game changer" for the telecommunications industry. Above all, these technologies could provide internet access to the large share of the world's population that is still offline. Private companies and consortia are also entering the market with increasingly ambitious space projects. According to the consulting firm Euroconsult, the global market for small satellites is expected to grow to US$30.1 billion over the next decade, compared with US$8.9 billion during the previous ten years.

ATN can look back on decades of experience in testing and certification but also offers its own technical solutions: for instance, the encapsulation of components for use in space. As a result, ATN boasts a vast pool of technical data on electronic and optoelectronic components in the aerospace industry. Driven by a pioneering spirit and curiosity, the Gateway pioneers are now concerned with developing an information system which allows access from the outside. “Simply put, Gateway works like a search engine which specialises in the components used in space technology,” explains Muñoz. In the process, Gateway makes use of external sources, including NASA, Europe's ESA and Japan’s JAXA. In 2017, they launched a completely functional beta version.

Aerospace experts from around the world can now obtain information from qualified sources and use this, among other things, to predict which processors and components will work especially well together. However, ATN can also use the Big Data application to draw conclusions about their users. If, for instance, a manufacturer of components mounts a targeted search for the properties of a particular microprocessor, ATN finds out how and for what purpose it is to be used. This makes it possible to generate targeted market analyses which provide important information for the needs-based customisation of products.

The test phase of the beta version of the Gateway is scheduled for completion in 2018. Muñoz is very satisfied. “We had an extraordinarily good response from the sector; no-one had ever come across a comparable system,” he explains with a touch of pride. Because the area of technology concerned is very specific, the group of users is correspondingly hand-picked. Between 30 and 50 users have regular access to the beta version; the intention is to open it up later to roughly 150 specialists from the space sector. ATN has already had cause to celebrate a major success: the European Space Agency ESA is going to use Gateway to select components for its future programmes.

José Carlos Muñoz and his space pioneers are, however, already one step ahead in their thinking. “The system we have developed can safely be transferred to other high-tech industries, such as medical technology or the automotive sector.” Given the fact that 163 zettabytes of data are going to need to be stored by 2025, reliable information systems like Gateway are set to become increasingly important.