Welcome Guest. | Log In| Register | Membership Benefits
  • Email this page E-mail this page
  • |  Print Print this page
  • |   Bookmark and Share
  • |  icon
  • | 

Linux Is Launchpad For Boeing's Simulations


Defense contractor turns to low-cost systems to test Delta IV rocket

By Larry Greenemeier
InformationWeek
December 2, 2002 12:00 AM (From the December 2, 2002 issue)

When Boeing successfully launched its Delta IV rocket last month, there was more riding on the event than the $1 billion telecommunications satellite attached to its tip. Also at stake was Boeing's piece of the global launch-services market, a lucrative business opportunity that could help offset some of the company's losses in its commercial airplanes division, which has cut nearly 30,000 jobs since Sept. 11, 2001.


DELTA IV ROCKET PHOTO

Linux helped keep development costs for Delta IV low.
Getting the Delta IV from the launchpad into space required years of design and computational fluid-dynamics testing to understand the impact of flight on the rocket's structure and control system. Aerodynamics engineers with Boeing's Expendable Launch Systems division in Huntington Beach, Calif., used a 96-node cluster of PCs with Advanced Micro Devices 850-MHz Athlon processors running Red Hat Linux, rather than a $500,000 supercomputer, to keep costs low in pursuit of its goal. Linux cluster-management company Linux Networx helped to develop the environment.

More Software Insights

White Papers

Reports

Videos


Roger Smith spoke with the CEO of Engine Yard, Lance Walley, about their Ruby and Rails deployment platform. Startup Mulesource offers an open-source ESB for SOA architectures Roger Boyce, CEO of Evident Software, discusses application virtualization. As companies take many servers and make them look like one, Evident provides unique insights into the operation of those new app fabrics.
Roger Boyce, CEO of Evident Software, discusses application virtualization. As companies take many servers and make them look like one, Evident provides unique insights into the operation of those new app fabrics.
"The Linux route was newer and had more risks, but sometimes you have to take some risks," says Scott Ward, the Boeing Delta program's manager of aerodynamics. Ward wouldn't say how much his department paid for the AMD Linux cluster when it was implemented in 2001, but he says it will continue to pay "huge" dividends as Boeing adds nodes to increase computing power.

Boeing plans to launch as many as five Delta IV rockets next year. The next mission will deploy an Air Force Defense Satellite Communication System. Last month's launch carried a telecommunications satellite built by Alcatel Space.


Subscribe to RSS


Advertisement

CAREER CENTER
Ready to take that job and shove it?



TechCareers

SEARCH
Function:

Keyword(s):

State:
SPONSOR
RECENT JOB POSTINGS
CAREER NEWS
10 Search Engines You Don't Know About
Go beyond Google and get vertical. These specialized search sites will help you find the business information you need -- fast.

Yahoo Profits Fall 23%, Cuts 1,000 Jobs
Ari Balogh was named to the post of chief technology officer as the companys for a "realignment" of employees.

More articles from our career center





Subscription Info
Apply for a free 52-week subscription to InformationWeek (a $199 value)

Last Name:

First Name:

Title:

Company Name:

City:

Business Address:

Zip:

State:

Email Address:

NOTE: Offer valid for U.S., U.S. possessions, & Canada only

            

Join economist Chris Cornell and 3 CIOs in an Exclusive Online Exchange for Senior IT Executives: Using IT to Drive Value in a Turbulent Economy. November 5th only.