Prime Highlights-
- TakeMe2Space will launch India’s first orbital computing satellite aboard a SpaceX rocket on October 1.
- MOI-1A carries Nvidia Orin NX processors to analyze data in orbit for 23 customers.
Key Facts
- The satellite weighs under 50 kg and flies on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission.
- Customers upload containerized AI models and receive only processed results, not raw datasets.
Background
Space startup TakeMe2Space will launch India’s first orbital computing satellite aboard a SpaceX rocket on October 1. The company wants to process data in space instead of sending raw information back to Earth. Its MOI-1A satellite weighs under 50 kg, carries Nvidia Orin NX edge-computing processors, and will fly on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission.
The startup has signed 23 customers for the mission, including geographic information system firms and educational institutions. Commercial users come from agriculture, mining, supply chain management, and insurance. US-based space data analytics firm Little Place Labs is among them.
Customers can upload containerized AI models to the satellite. The spacecraft processes data as it passes over a chosen area and sends only the analysis to Earth. Founder and CEO Ronak Samantray said this saves customers the cost of downloading large raw datasets, which offsets the premium for computing in orbit.
MOI-1A works as an onboard edge-computing satellite rather than a conventional data center, and it runs on about 150 watts of power. Companies such as SpaceX and Starcloud plan to use more advanced Nvidia chips found in terrestrial data centers.
An earlier demonstration mission in late 2024 proved the company could upload applications, run AI inference in orbit, and download results. TakeMe2Space also plans to offer cold storage in orbit for critical data, aimed at financial services and defense customers.
The company designs and builds most satellite subsystems in India. Larger networked satellites are planned from 2027.
