Kepler Communications Opens Largest Orbital Compute Cluster for Commercial Use

Apr 14, 2026

Kepler Communications, a Canadian company led by CEO Mina Mitry, has opened the largest orbital compute cluster currently in space for commercial use, featuring about 40 Nvidia Orin edge processors across 10 satellites connected by laser links. The company announced Sophia Space as its newest customer among 18 total clients, with Sophia Space planning to test its proprietary operating system across six GPUs on two spacecraft before launching its own passively cooled satellites in late 2027. This marks the first commercial space-based AI compute service and the first attempt to launch and configure software across multiple GPUs on different spacecraft in orbit. While experts don't expect large-scale orbital data centers until the 2030s, the technology addresses growing demand from satellite companies planning power-hungry sensors like synthetic aperture radar and U.S. military missile defense systems requiring orbital threat detection.

Kepler Communications' orbital compute cluster and commercial partnerships

▪Kepler Communications' satellites are linked together by laser communications links.
▪Kepler Communications has 18 customers for its orbital compute cluster.
▪Kepler Communications launched the largest compute cluster currently in orbit in January 2025.
▪Sophia Space will attempt to launch and configure its operating system across six GPUs on two Kepler Communications spacecraft.
▪Sophia Space will test software for its orbital computer onboard Kepler Communications' constellation.
▪Sophia Space will upload its proprietary operating system to one of Kepler Communications' satellites.
▪Sophia Space plans its first satellite launch in late 2027.
▪Kepler Communications' orbital compute cluster contains about 40 Nvidia Orin edge processors onboard 10 operational satellites.
▪Kepler Communications announced Sophia Space as its newest customer on Monday.
▪Sophia Space is developing passively cooled space computers.

Edge processing and near-term applications for space-based computing

▪Kepler Communications is currently carrying and processing data uploaded from the ground or collected by hosted payloads on its own spacecraft.
▪Kepler Communications demonstrated a space-to-air laser link in a demo for the U.S. government.
▪Kepler Communications expects to start linking up with third-party satellites to provide networking and processing services as the sector matures.
▪Kepler Communications' GPUs are running 100% of the time.

Long-term vision for space data centers and market drivers

▪Blue Origin has envisioned large-scale data centers in space.
▪Experts expect large-scale data centers in space will not be seen until the 2030s.

Perspective of Kepler Communications

▪Kepler Communications operates its GPUs at 100% capacity continuously.
▪Kepler Communications views processing data collected in orbit to improve space-based sensor capabilities as the first step for orbital computing.

Perspective of Sophia Space

▪Sophia Space views Kepler Communications' orbital cluster as a platform to test software for its own orbital computer before its satellite launch.
▪Sophia Space is pursuing passively cooled space computer technology as part of its development strategy.