NASA's supercomputer capabilities are not keeping pace with the latest technology advances and are "oversubscribed and overloaded," causing delays for missions that are sometimes handled by teams that procure their own infrastructure.
NASA's Old Supercomputers Cause Mission Delays: 18,000 CPUs But Only 48 GPUs, Need Update
The above are some of the findings of an assessment [PDF] of the aerospace agency's advanced computing capabilities, conducted by NASA's internal auditor, the Office of Inspector General.
Published Thursday, the audit begins by declaring "NASA needs a renewed commitment and sustained leadership attention to revitalize its [advanced computing] HEC efforts. Without key changes, the agency's HEC will likely constrain future mission priorities and goals."
These changes are needed because NASA's HEC ops — a term the audit uses interchangeably with supercomputers — is managed by its Earth science research program within the Science Mission Directorate, rather than as a central function.
