Satlyt tests software for sharing computing tasks between satellites

Satlyt says it has completed a test of software designed to distribute computing tasks among satellites, a step toward its goal of turning spacecraft into virtual data centers.

The test followed 13 months of work and was conducted with the University of Houston as part of a NASA-funded research project. It used a simulated network of four computers, four users and eight services. The software assessed how to assign and run tasks based on available computing capacity and communications.

Only one physical computer aboard a spacecraft in orbit ran the software; the other three computers were simulated. The system generated task plans, and the results were sent back to Earth. Satlyt founder Rama Afullo told TechCrunch the test showed the software could make plans on orbital hardware. Further tests will examine information sharing among multiple physical computers.

NASA has not selected Satlyt for a mission or chosen it to deploy the technology. The company says it still needs to validate the software across different workloads, hardware and connectivity conditions. Afullo also reported that the test exposed a measurement issue: the software recorded delays as arrival times rather than elapsed time. He said the software execution and return of results succeeded.

Satlyt was founded in 2024. Its longer-term aim is to let developers build space applications without rebuilding the underlying infrastructure for each mission.