The European Space Agency (ESA) aims to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. In addition to exploring Earth and the immediate space environment, Solar System and Universe, ESA develops satellite-based technologies and services.

In 2013, ESA initiated one of its most ambitious missions to date: the Gaia satellite. Over the course of five years, Gaia will orbit L2 (Lagrange point 2) to chart a three-dimensional map of the Milky Way Galaxy, revealing its composition, formation and evolution. Gaia is designed to provide unprecedented positional and radial velocity measurements with the accuracy needed to produce a stereoscopic and kinematic census of about one billion stars in our Galaxy and throughout the Local Group. The Gaia project will generate the largest, most precise 3D map of our Galaxy ever created by surveying an unprecedented 1% of its population of 100 billion stars.

ESA deployed Aspera’s high-speed file transfer technology to distribute the vast pools of data garnered from Gaia to geographically dispersed data processing centers (DPCs) across Europe that are

coordinated by the Data Processing & Analysis Consortium (DPAC), a collaboration of over 15 countries that consists of expert scientists and software developers responsible for the processing of Gaia’s data. Reliable, high-performance transfers powered by Aspera’s patented FASP® technology reduce transfer times and promote collaboration between these Data Processing Centers.

CHALLENGE

To accurately record images and measurements of each star, the Gaia spacecraft is equipped with highly efficient cameras, which will observe each of its one billion sources about 70 times over the course of the project. The information gathered by the satellite is first sent down

in telemetry packets to one of the three ground stations in Cebreros, Spain, Malargüe, Argentina or New Norcia, Australia and is then further transferred via

their in-house transmission system to the Science Operation Center (SOC) located in Madrid for initial processing and analysis. The SOC coordinates the distribution of the data received to the rest of the DPCs across Western Europe to further process the data. On a daily basis, approximately 100GB of data must be delivered to the five

AT A GLANCE

Industry

Space Exploration

ProductsEnterprise ServerPoint-to-Point ClientConsole

Challenge

Exchanging large sets of astronomical data securely and reliably between Data Processing Centers (DPCs) across Europe.

Solution

Aspera Enterprise Server at the SOC in Madrid and Aspera Point-to Point at the other DPC locations to enable a seamless exchange of data.

Results

• Highly reliable, secure and predictable distribution of large data regardless of network conditions.

• Aspera enables the team to transfer multiple data sets of 100GB to 4TB per day between data processing centers.

The European Space Agency Selects Aspera to Distribute

Astronomical Data Captured by the Gaia Mission

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“Using Aspera has significantly simplified the process of sharing data between data processing centers.”

BENEFITS

Fast transfers Aspera enables operators to exchange large quantities of scientific data at maximum speed over any network, regardless of the file size or distance.

Monitoring and control Advanced monitoring tools enable ESA to tightly control bandwidth allocation and prioritize and monitor all incoming and outgoing Aspera transfers with real-time notifications and advanced reporting.

Reliability In the event of a network interruption, automatic retry and restart for partial or failed transfers from the point of interruption ensures data sets will be transferred more quickly and dependably.

Strong security Aspera protects valuable data with a built-in security package that includes encryption in transit and at rest, user authentication and data integrity verifications for each transmitted block.

processing units, and in the future, the total volume of data transferred during one day is estimated to reach up to 4TB for some time periods.

The data gathered during the Gaia mission is entered into a table that will later be compiled into one large database: the Gaia Catalogue. Upon completion of the five-year Gaia mission, the total data gathered is predicted to fill over 1.5 million CD ROMs, accumulating to nearly a petabyte of astronomical data.

ESA needed an efficient solution to process and distribute this enormous quantity of data and make it available for the astronomical community.

SOLUTION

When planning for the Gaia mission began eight years ago, ESA analyzed the data workflow and identified the need for a transfer tool to move digital data reliably across Europe without data size restrictions. In addition, the solution needed to be seamlessly integrated into their existing Java–based inhouse software tool that manages automated workflows. Aspera offered a competitive technology with unmatched speed and reliability, and ESA quickly opted to deploy a suite of products from Aspera to support the Gaia project. Today, an Aspera Enterprise Server is housed at the SOC in Madrid, while Aspera Point-to-Point Clients are deployed at the other DPCs. Aspera Console is used to monitor and manage the entire transfer workflow.

A small group of selected operators at the SOC who were given access rights can now quickly and easily distribute the Gaia data to the respective collaborative processing centers across Europe.

The sensitive astronomical data is protected with SSH authentication, encryption in transit and at rest, and data integrity verification for each transmitted block. Aspera Point-to-Point allows the DPCs to securely exchange the digital assets. Aspera Console provides real-time dashboards that show all transfer activities and allows full control over file transfers, including prioritization and bandwidth control.

RESULTS

Aspera was successfully integrated into ESA’s existing IT infrastructure, allowing the operators to transfer 100GB to 4TB of data each day between the DPCs with full security, reliability, and performance. Aspera has helped reduce overall project costs by eliminating the need for costly hard drive shipments, as well as reduced the overall turnaround time for data processing and analysis.

During heavy use periods, Aspera’s adaptive rate control enables concurrent transfers to maintain fast and stable speeds while being fair to other traffic and enabling adjustments to bandwidth priorities. The Point-to-Point Clients enable high-speed, two-way data transfers between distant locations, facilitating collaboration between the DPCs.

Using Aspera has significantly simplified the process of sharing data between data processing centers, thereby streamlining the entire process and enabling operators to focus their efforts on one of the most ambitious astronomical missions in our lifetime.

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About AsperaAspera, an IBM Company, is the creator of next-generation transport technologies that move the world’s data at maximum speed regardless of file size, transfer distance and network conditions. Based on its patented, Emmy® award-winning FASP® protocol, Aspera software fully utilizes existing infrastructures to deliver the fastest, most predictable file-transfer experience. Aspera’s core technology delivers unprecedented control over bandwidth, complete security and uncompromising reliability. Organizations across a variety of industries on six continents rely on Aspera software for the business-critical transport of their digital assets.

Learn more at www.asperasoft.com and follow us on Twitter @asperasoft for more information.

ABOUT COMPANY

Founded in 1975 in Paris, the European Space Agency (ESA), is considered Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA is an intergovernmental organization with 22 Member States. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, it can undertake programs and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. ESA’s programs are designed to find out more about Earth, its immediate space environment, our Solar System and the Universe, as well as to develop satellite-based technologies and services, and to promote European industries.