International Space Station Astronauts to Upgrade to HP ZBook Fury G9 Laptops
NASA recently announced it is upgrading the computer systems on the International Space Station (ISS), with the Expedition 74 crew gradually replacing their laptops with the next-generation HP ZBook Fury G9 mobile workstations to enhance onboard scientific research and daily operations. The new equipment is provided by HP and is a customized model specifically for the space station.
According to NASA’s announcement last week, astronauts held a meeting last Friday to evaluate and confirm the specific upgrade plan, which will first replace the network servers and then activate the new, more powerful laptops. NASA spokesperson Joshua Finch told the media that the International Space Station program has officially selected the HP ZBook Fury G9 as the next-generation space station laptop platform. Currently, NASA astronaut Chris Williams, a member of Expedition 74, has begun unpacking, inspecting, and preparing to install the related computer hardware inside the space station, and NASA has publicly released footage of the operation.
HP revealed that the ZBook Fury G9 configured for the International Space Station is a “custom version” with hardware specifications far exceeding those of ordinary office computers. The model is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 9 vPro HX processor, an NVIDIA RTX Pro Blackwell professional graphics processor, 128GB of DDR5 memory, and four 2TB NVMe solid-state drives, providing ample computing power and storage space for onboard scientific experiments, data processing, and image analysis. In addition, because the International Space Station primarily uses a DC power system, commonly used AC adapters cannot be used directly. HP has specifically designed a “NASA-exclusive” power adapter for this platform that is bi-directionally compatible with both the space station’s DC environment and the ground environment.
HP introduced that more than 100 of the company’s workstations are currently operating in orbit on the International Space Station, along with specially deployed printing equipment optimized for microgravity environments, providing support for various scientific research and life support needs of the space station. The 35 HP ZBook Fury G9 laptops planned to be sent to the space station will be the third generation of HP computing platforms deployed on the space station, continuing and upgrading the experience of the previous two generations in orbit. With the gradual launch of the new laptops and network servers, the overall computing environment of the International Space Station is expected to be significantly improved in future mission cycles, providing a more reliable technical foundation for subsequent scientific experiments and deep space exploration.