Linux Supercomputer Used For Xerus Spacecraft Design

The designers of a new spacecraft are getting a hand from a Linux powered supercomputer: the Silicon Graphics Altix 3000 server. The engineers of XCOR Aerospace are running Computational Fluid Dynamics software on the Silicon Graphics machine to optimize the aerodynamic design of the first space vehicle developed by a non-government organization. The software simulates air flows, temperatures, pressures, and the resulting vehicle motions. The computations will help speed up the development of the Xerus spacecraft by predicting the vehicle's stability and control characteristics as a function of design modifications. Read more...