The largest compute cluster currently in orbit was launched by Canada's Kepler Communications in January, and boasts about 40 Nvidia Orin edge processors onboard 10 operational satellites, all linked together by laser communications links. Experts expect that we won't see large-scale data centers like those envisioned by SpaceX or Blue Origin until the 2030s. The first step will be processing data that is collected in orbit to improve the capabilities of space-based sensors used by private companies and government agencies. Kepler doesn't see itself as a data center company, but as infrastructure for applications in space, CEO Mina Mitry tells TechCrunch. It wants to be a layer that provides network services for other satellites in space, or drones and aircraft in the sky below. Sophia, on the other hand, is developing passively cooled space computers that could solve one of the key challenges for large-scale data centers in orbit: keeping powerful processors from overheating...
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