Role of high-end computing in meeting NASA's science and engineering challenges

Abstract

High-end computing (HEC) has always played a major role in meeting the modeling and simulation needs of various NASA missions. Two years ago, NASA was on the verge of dramatically enhancing its HEC capability and capacity by significantly increasing its computational and storage resources. With the 10, 240-processor Columbia supercomputer in production since October 2004, HEC is having an even greater impact within the Agency and beyond. Advanced science and engineering simulations in space exploration, Shuttle operations, Earth sciences, and fundamental aeronautics research are occurring on Columbia, demonstrating its ability to accelerate NASA's exploration vision. This paper describes how the integrated production environment fostered at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility at Ames Research Center is reducing design cycle times, accelerating scientific discovery, achieving rapid parametric analyses of multiple scenarios, and enhancing safety for several NASA missions. We focus on Columbia's impact on two key engineering and science disciplines: aerospace, and climate/weather. We also discuss future mission challenges and plans for NASA's next-generation HEC environment. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009.