Case Study: European Space Agency achieves high-performance, scalable Gaia data processing with InterSystems CACHÉ

European Space Agency Chooses InterSystems CACHÉ Database For Gaia Mission to Map Milky Way

InterSystems supplied its CACHÉ database to support the European Space Agency’s Gaia mission, a five-year effort to map the Milky Way by observing a billion stars roughly 70 times each. ESA faced an extreme data challenge: the Astrometric Global Iterative Solution (AGIS) needed to insert and process up to 50 billion Java objects within seven days to refine positional measurements and produce a precise 3D star catalog.

ESA chose CACHÉ because its technology permits direct insertion of Java objects into the database’s multidimensional structures, delivering the performance and scalability required on moderate hardware. This solution enabled AGIS to handle massive data loads efficiently, allowing Gaia to generate the high-precision dataset that will reveal new celestial objects and advance understanding of the galaxy’s origin, structure, and evolution.

European Space Agency

William O'Mullane

Scientific Operations Manager of the Gaia mission, European Space Agency