Satlyt Advances Toward Creating Virtual Data Centers in Space Using Satellites

Image: The Satlyt team, from left to right, engineer Leina Moli, founder and CEO Rama Afullo, engineer Junn Wangari, and CTO Nelson Psenjen. · Source

Satlyt successfully demonstrated software that enables satellites to coordinate and share computing tasks in orbit, progressing its vision of transforming spacecraft into virtual data centers for faster, onboard data processing.

Satlyt, a startup founded in 2024 by Rama Afullo, is developing software aimed at transforming satellites and other spacecraft into virtual data centers. This month, Satlyt achieved a significant milestone by successfully testing its technology, which orchestrates the distribution of computing tasks among multiple computers—even when located in orbit. This marks an important step toward Satlyt’s vision of seamless, networked data processing in space.

The recent test, conducted as part of a NASA-funded project in collaboration with the University of Houston, simulated a network involving four computers, eight services, and four users. While only one physical spacecraft computer executed the software onboard, the others were simulations. The software dynamically assessed and assigned tasks based on available computing resources and communication conditions, then transmitted results back to Earth. This demonstrated the software’s ability to plan and operate onboard satellite hardware, an essential foundation for enabling interconnected satellite computing networks.

Rama Afullo explained that Satlyt’s goal is to develop software that, once deployed across multiple satellites, can autonomously manage computing assignments by considering permissions, priorities, and operational limits set by users. The system would optimize how satellites collaborate to process data onboard, ultimately reducing the reliance on slow or intermittent downlinks to ground stations. This approach aims to accelerate the delivery of actionable information, such as detecting wildfires on Earth and rapidly transmitting relevant data to responders.

While the software performed well, the test revealed challenges including a timing reference issue related to delay measurements, which the team plans to address. Additionally, further experiments are needed using multiple physical spacecraft to assess inter-satellite data transfers thoroughly. Satlyt also recognizes the need for establishing reliable communication links, secure data transfers, operator permissions, resource scheduling, and fault recovery mechanisms.

Satlyt’s software is already operational on three satellites in orbit, though NASA has yet to select the company’s technology for any specific mission. Nevertheless, this achievement represents progress toward integrating computing work across spacecraft, a capability that aligns with NASA’s broader goals to enhance onboard data processing amid constraints like limited computing power and intermittent communications.

Longer term, Satlyt envisions enabling developers to create applications for space without having to rebuild infrastructure for each mission, effectively creating virtual AI data centers in orbit. The company aims to expand testing beyond low Earth orbit and move toward broader validation and integration to demonstrate shared computing among separate spacecraft. This innovative approach could transform how space missions handle data, making them more autonomous and efficient.