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MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. and ZURICH, Switzerland -- When the new Ariane 5 E space rocket lifts itself elegantly into the tropical sky over Kourou, French Guyana, on Nov. 28, 2002, the European space program will again increase its global lead in payload per space launcher. A Swiss industrial consortium, led by Contraves Space AG, is contributing largely to the European Space Agency's (ESA) success. Whenever an Ariane space rocket is launched, more than 20 Swiss companies and SGI (NYSE: SGI) , the leading solutions provider for high-performance computing and advanced visualization, support the efficient operation. Thanks to its enormous 1,600 tons of thrust, the Ariane 5 E is the only launcher that can simultaneously carry several satellites weighing 10 tons in a geostationary orbit to 36,000 km altitude above the earth's surface. In an earth-proximate orbit of 550 km, the launcher can even carry 20 tons. This advanced new generation launcher enables Europe to lower the price per kilograms for satellites by approximately 40 percent. Every Gram Counts During Launch Contraves Space is the world leader when it comes to payload fairings. The fairing, the topmost part of the launcher, performs the vital task of protecting the expensive satellites from aerodynamic, thermal and acoustic loads during the flight stage through the earth's atmosphere. To date, the innovative Swiss company can claim that all 160 payload fairings used have functioned reliably. This is due to Contraves Space AG fairings employing a CFK fabrication system that uses composite fiber-reinforced plastic. Thus these payload fairings are considerably superior to those of the competition in terms of weight for the same volume and price. When the controlled jettisoning stage of the payload fairing takes place at 110 km altitude, it is imperative to ensure that the two halves separate from the launcher and do not collide at any point with the rocket accelerating between the semi-fairings. Before each launch, ESA demands an exact forecast of the minimum clearance that is afterwards precisely verified by the telemetric data gathered from sensors, such as breaking-wire sensors, that are mounted on the payload fairings. Precise Product Development Requires Powerful Computing All space products have to guarantee sufficient strength at the smallest possible mass to be able to resist the high-pressure forces during the launch phase and the extreme temperature differences in space. For this reason, Contraves Space is dependent on comprehensive simulation in the development of its products. High-performance computing and visualization systems provided by the SGI Switzerland team are particularly important for testing and evaluating the thermal and dynamic behavior of the payload fairings and satellite cells. Using an SGI(R) Origin(R) server, for example, enables calculations for optimizing the payload fairing jettisoning process or the oscillation behavior of the satellite cells. In addition, postprocessing enables Contraves to determine the effects of vibration, acceleration, temperature and shock stress so the calculations can be visualized, analyzed and recorded. In order to compute and manage the enormous flow of data during product development, Contraves Space has for the first time brought together all of its high-performance client and server systems into a productive environment based on the CXFS(TM) filesystem. CXFS from SGI is the industry's fastest shared filesystem for storage area networks (SANs), providing no-compromise data sharing, enhanced workflow and reduced costs in data-intensive environments by eliminating file duplication and the time it takes to move large files over the network. CXFS also provides heterogeneous client support for the IRIX(R), Solaris(TM) and Windows NT(R) operating systems. At present, 10 Silicon Graphics(R) Octane2(TM) workstations, one SGI(R) Onyx(R) 3000 series visualization system and one SGI Origin server are connected to the CXFS filesystem at Contraves, providing optimal access to a central data store. Andreas Herren, manager of dynamics and CAE research and development for Contraves Space has relied on SGI(R) systems for more than 10 years. "The system installed enables us to save an enormous amount of time during interactive processing on our workstations," Herren commented. "The implementation of CXFS has enabled Contraves Space to be in a position to avoid bottlenecks in its LAN. Moreover, the SAN implementation provides the prerequisite for a LAN-free backup, which will in turn further reduce the administrative costs for the next phase." For more information about SGI solutions for the automotive, aerospace and manufacturing industries, visit www.sgi.com/industries/manufacturing/.