Kepler Communications has launched the largest compute cluster in orbit, with 40 Nvidia processors onboard 10 operational satellites linked by laser communications links. The company has 18 customers and is now partnering with Sophia Space to test its software on Kepler's constellation. This partnership marks an important step towards developing orbital compute capabilities, which are expected to play a key role in processing data from space-based sensors.
Sophia Space is working on passively-cooled space computers that could help solve the problem of overheating in large-scale data centers in orbit. The company will upload its operating system to one of Kepler's satellites and attempt to configure it across six GPUs on two spacecraft, a first for orbital compute.
Experts expect that large-scale data centers like those envisioned by SpaceX or Blue Origin won't be built until the 2030s. However, smaller-scale processing capabilities in orbit are already being developed, with a focus on edge processing and dealing with data where it is collected for faster responsiveness. This approach sets Kepler and Sophia apart from other space companies that are focused on building large-scale data centers.
