Going to the Moon via the Cloud
High-performance cloud computing has allowed start-ups to develop prototypes and run simulations — including one to the moon — that were previously done on supercomputers.
Credit...James Yang
This article is part of our new series,
, which examines how rapid advances in technology are transforming our lives.
Firefly Aerospace, a start-up based in the suburbs of Austin, Texas, is building a rocket to fly to the moon.
No, this isn’t a remake of “A Grand Day Out With Wallace and Gromit,” in which the animated duo go to the lunar surface on a search for cheese; it’s a real company. It’s also an example of how the ubiquitous availability of high-performance computing through the internet has unleashed a global wave of creativity. The “cloud,” that fuzzy euphemism for networks of massive computer farms that anyone can access with a laptop and a credit card, has put even the wildest dreams within reach of people with enough know-how.