Russian hosting provider RuVDS will conduct an experiment to operate a data center at the North Pole. The construction of a compact data center is planned on the premises of the Barneo ice camp, which is located on an ice floe close to the North Pole.
As part of the project, reports suggest that the equipment will be parachuted onto the ice floe from an Il-76 transport aircraft. It is believed that the landing will make it possible to test the strain and therefore the reliability of the server equipment to the max.
The data center is designed to operate in extreme conditions. After landing, it will establish communication with the RuVDS satellite and transmit telemetry data via the satellite. Launched into orbit on June 23, 2023 by a Soyuz carrier rocket, the satellite now flies over the North Pole every hour and a half.
The accuracy of the transmitted data and its quality are monitored by experts of the hosting provider and specialists from Stratonavtika LLC, the project’s technical partner. The experiment is scheduled to start between April 2 and 6, 2024 and is expected to last one month.
Jumping from the stratosphere over the North Pole
In addition to landing the data center equipment, the world’s first stratospheric jump over the North Pole from a height of more than 10,000 meters will also be carried out using the same aircraft. The record attempt is expected to be carried out by cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, who has been awarded the title “Hero of Russia”, flight instructor Alexander Lynnik and Denis Efremov. Tests in heat and pressure chambers took place at the beginning of March, followed by a test jump from a height of 6,000 meters.
Nikita Tsaplin, CEO of hosting provider RuVDS explains: “We are happy that our equipment is landing together with people who plan on making a record jump from the stratosphere to the North Pole, because above the pole the atmosphere is thinner and the stratosphere starts at 10 kilometers. Both events will draw additional attention to the Arctic and highlight its importance and prospects.”
Heiner Kubny, PolarJournal
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