Ipswitch Transfers Files from ISS

Data from scientific experiments being conducted in the 4.5-metre diameter cylindrical Columbus laboratory attached to the International Space Station, is to be transferred back to Earth via Ipswitch’s WS_FTP Professional solution for safe storage and retrieval. Astronauts will be conducting research using the Muscle Atrophy Research and Exercise System (MARES), a large, aisle-mounted exercise device, to generate and collect data on musculoskeletal, biomechanical and neuromuscular human physiology, in order to better understand the effects of microgravity on the muscular system. Test are expected to use 20 hours of crew time and be commissioned for up to three years; generated

data will be stored on MARES’ hard drive to a monitoring laptop and then down to Cadmos the scientific support facility at the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES), Toulouse, France, which is in charge of monitoring the experiments.

“Crew time is so valuable and the volume of data involved is so large that a reliable and secure system for data transfer was absolutely essential,” explained Alain Maillet, Cadmos engineer. “WS_FTP gives us the possibility to transfer all our scientific data files automatically and securely, not only in space, but also back down to Earth.