On Orbit

While orbital data centers have drawn attention and driven headlines this year, there's another story unfolding in spaceborne computing — the evolution of the space edge. It's a shift to higher-powered satellites that can process data at the edge, right where it's collected. Voyager Technologies CTO Paul Tilghman joins On Orbit this week to unpack this shift and how it supports the rise of proliferated data collected in space and applications like missile defense, that demand shorter timelines from sensor-to-decision. 
Paul explains some of the underlying trends associated with this shift, the potential for clustered computing in space, and the importance of compatibility and open standards versus bespoke systems. He also shares an update on Space Edge, Voyager's space-hardened, managed cloud infrastructure designed to bring computing power directly to orbit. A prototype platform of Space Edge is flying on the ISS today. 
This conversation was sponsored by Voyager Technologies.

As conflicts have erupted around the world, governments and MoDs are recognizing the urgent, immediate need for space-based intelligence. At the same time, the cost to build and launch satellites has dropped significantly, and it's changing how governments acquire satellite imagery and Al-enabled intelligence capabilities, driving them to embrace sovereign solutions from commercial partners.
This week, BlackSky CTO Patrick O'Neil joins On Orbit for a conversation about the dynamics underpinning international adoption of sovereign space technologies. Patrick explains the spectrum of needs that begin with subscription-based assured access to commercial imagery and analytics and scale into fully sovereign systems. He also talks about how the speed of modern warfare is fueling demand for real-time dynamic monitoring and how AI helps unlock critical insights from the volumes of Earth observation data collected.

As AI is driving explosive growth in data center construction on Earth, there's accelerating interest in moving some of the computing infrastructure to orbit. The past few months have seen a flurry of announcements for future orbital data centers. Is this the latest hype cycle for the space industry, or a greenfield opportunity? The answer may be somewhere in the middle. 
In this week's On Orbit episode, we're bringing you a recent discussion from Via Satellite's Tech Webcast series. It features JJ Jaworski, CEO and co-founder of Edge Aerospace; Rob DeMillo, CEO of Sophia Space; and Ronald Birk, principal director of the Space Enterprise Evolution Directorate for The Aerospace Corporation. The conversation digs into potential architectures for orbital computing, the technological developments and challenges, and realistic use cases and potential early adopters for in-orbit computing. 
This conversation was sponsored by Edge Aerospace.

What can the hostile environment of the Arctic teach us about space? David Marsh recently returned from a first-hand journey to find out. He joins On Orbit this week after wrapping up an Arctic expedition where he spent 29 days skiing more than 560 kilometers across Greenland with a group of researchers. 
Over the trip he worked on a number of research projects like investigating the use of LEO satellites for navigation, and using a new radio propagation technique to measure space weather. David shares what life was like on the expedition and how the trip took him inside an abandoned Cold War radar station. 
As a space industry professional who previously worked for Voyager Technologies and is now a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, David has a particular focus on the relationship between the Arctic and space. His work on the subject includes a recently published piece for War on the Rocks that is referenced in the episode. While the region is critical for downlinking satellite data, David also believes the extreme environment of the Arctic can teach us something about surviving in the extreme environment of space.

Over just a few years, the ability to connect everyday cell phones to satellite has gone from a milestone tech demonstration to a feature that's deployed in millions of phones. Mindel De La Torre has watched this evolution closely and been a part of the regulatory advancements to make it possible. Formerly chief of the FCC's International Bureau, Mindel then led regulatory and international strategy for Omnispace before joining Skylo as head of Global Regulatory Affairs.
Mindel joins On Orbit this week to talk about the intersection of spectrum policy, international coordination, and the future of global connectivity. She shares how the regulatory landscape is evolving for D2D, and gives a preview of some upcoming spectrum issues for the WRC-27 conference. From her work in government to startups, Mindel says one through line has been a passion for finding ways to provide service to unserved and underserved communities, which she now gets to see firsthand as D2D expands around the world.