Goonhilly Earth Station, Satellite communications innovator and space gateway, opened its new data center in Cornwall, UK. The company launched a managed, green high-performance computing (HPC) platform for AI and ML compute on demand. Goonhilly’s goal is to create a UK hub for AI and ML services that acts as a marketplace and allows academia and enterprise to collaborate and share ideas.
“Through our strong partnerships with industry and academia we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of innovation. Our new green data center is no exception. It is satisfying to open our doors to the many businesses and organizations with data-intensive applications who can benefit from this facility and the community we are creating,” said Ian Jones, CEO of Goonhilly.
Goonhilly’s green platform is designed to meet the data-intensive needs of the automotive, life sciences and space/aerospace marketplaces. The new managed platform delivers high-performance GPU-based compute and storage for decentralized and centralized AI and machine learning applications. According to the company, customers can reduce the cost of deployment and accelerate time to market by provisioning both compute and AI and machine learning resources on demand.
Goonhilly Earth Station has deployed a liquid immersion cooling system from Submer to help mitigate the data and power intensive needs of the HPC. It is one of the first organizations in the UK to do that. Its onsite array of solar panels will meet the data center's 500kW power requirements. The organization informed that local wind power will be added to the mix shortly.
“There are people working on some clever algorithms to save our planet from climate change. The irony is that these models require heavy processing power. Fortunately new technology is helping, such as immersion cooling which is 45-50% more efficient than air cooling, cuts electricity demand in half, and also allows us to use the exhaust heat elsewhere,” said Chris Roberts, Head of Data Center and Cloud at Goonhilly.
Goonhilly provides a comprehensive range of leading-edge connectivity and operational solutions to the space industry, GEO, MEO and LEO satellite fleet operators, broadcasters, as well as enterprises seeking to grow their businesses on earth and in near and deep space. Customers include SES, Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Inmarsat, as well as space agencies, governments, broadcasters and others.
