Satlyt has completed a test that brings the startup closer to its goal of turning satellites into virtual data centers. The company is developing software designed to let spacecraft share computing tasks based on available processing capacity and communication links.
The test followed 13 months of work and was conducted with the University of Houston as part of a NASA-funded research project. Satlyt’s software evaluated how to distribute tasks among computers while accounting for changes in computing and communications availability.
For the experiment, the company created a simulated network involving four computers, four users and eight services. One physical computer aboard a spacecraft ran the experiment, representing four computing hosts, and sent the results back to Earth. The test demonstrated that Satlyt’s software could generate task-assignment plans on orbiting hardware.
The company said further testing is needed to assess how tasks and information move between multiple physical computers in space. One of the approaches tested performed best, although it required more computing power than the alternatives.
Satlyt’s software is already installed on three satellites in orbit. The company says users would define permissions, priorities and operating limits, while the software would make decisions within those parameters. The startup’s objective is to help operators run AI and other applications closer to where data is collected, reducing dependence on sending large volumes of information to Earth for analysis.
Satlyt said the technology could help spacecraft deliver relevant information more quickly. In a wildfire-detection scenario, for example, onboard processing could allow a satellite to transmit useful findings sooner rather than sending all collected data through limited communication windows.
The experiment also identified an issue in how the software recorded communication delays: it used arrival time instead of elapsed delay. Satlyt said this did not invalidate the test, because the software development, onboard execution and return of results were successful.
The company still plans to test the system under different workloads, hardware configurations and connectivity conditions. It also identified the need for reliable communication links, authorization from participating operators, secure data transfers, resource scheduling and recovery mechanisms for unavailable computing nodes.
Satlyt was founded in 2024 by Rama Afullo, who previously worked at Google and SpaceX. The startup placed among the top five teams in this year’s TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield. NASA has not selected Satlyt for a specific mission or decided to deploy its technology, despite the company’s participation in the NASA-funded research.
Its next technical steps include broader validation and integration, followed by demonstrations in which separate spacecraft share computing work. Satlyt is also researching applications beyond low Earth orbit, including support for 4K video streaming from the Moon through its NASA-funded work.
Sources: TechCrunch Startups.