Sophia Space Announces Strategic Collaboration with Kepler Communications to Advance Orbital Compute and Connectivity
Press Release + Noah Note
Pasadena, California – Sophia Space Inc., a pioneer in modular, AI-optimized, passively cooled compute technology for space applications, today announced the signing of a commercial agreement with Kepler Communications Inc. to advance a comprehensive collaboration across orbital compute and connectivity. This effort will demonstrate Sophia Space’s Orbital Data Center (ODC) software on orbit, while leveraging Kepler’s optical data relay network to enable distributed, resilient compute infrastructure in space.
“Partnering with Kepler allows us to accelerate our vision of bringing modular, low-latency compute to space while demonstrating real-world operational capability,” said Rob DeMillo, CEO and Co-founder of Sophia Space. “This collaboration opens the door to new opportunities for our TILEs and ODC software—from hosted payloads to joint optical data nodes—while advancing a fundamentally new class of distributed computing systems designed to operate reliably in the harsh conditions of orbit.”
Under the agreement, Sophia Space will deploy space-optimized software and operate distributed, NVIDIA-powered edge compute nodes on Kepler satellites, beginning in Q4 2026. These demonstration missions are designed to validate not only software and hardware integration in orbit, but also distributed node management at scale, enabling orchestration of high-volume workloads across multiple spacecraft.
Sophia Space’s ODC software is specifically designed for fault-tolerant, radiation-aware computing, ensuring survivability and operational continuity in the presence of single-event upsets, system faults, and degraded conditions inherent to the space environment. The platform supports resilient distributed operations, allowing workloads to dynamically shift across nodes, maintain uptime, and continue processing even amid partial system failures.
The collaboration will also demonstrate multi-tenant, enterprise-grade compute operations in orbit, moving beyond single-purpose payloads toward a flexible, shared infrastructure model. Initial use cases include AI-driven, high-resolution global weather forecasting and space domain awareness (SDA) analytics, leveraging space-based data pipelines powered by NVIDIA Jetson Orin modules. By utilizing AI and high-performance computing frameworks at the edge, workloads can be executed, distributed, and dynamically orchestrated across multiple nodes in orbit via Kepler’s high speed optical network; enabling real-time inference, multi-sensor data fusion, and autonomous data processing with reduced downlink and reliance on terrestrial infrastructure.
“Open collaboration and interoperability are essential to building a resilient space-based network,” said Mina Mitry, CEO and Co-founder of Kepler Communications. “Unlike closed systems, our partnership with Sophia Space enables multiple partners to leverage a shared infrastructure, accelerating innovation and delivering real-world value to customers. By working together, we can demonstrate how modular compute and advanced connectivity coexist seamlessly in orbit, setting a new standard for the future of space networks.”
Beyond initial demonstration missions, the agreement establishes a framework for multi-partner collaboration, with Sophia Space utilizing the Kepler network for high-speed optical and RF data relay. This architecture supports distributed processing pipelines in orbit, reducing the need to downlink raw data and enabling near real-time decision-making.
The collaboration also explores longer-term commercial and technical collaboration, including the joint development of Optical Data Center Nodes on future Kepler satellites; designed to support scalable, fault-tolerant compute clusters in space.
Open for Engagement
Organizations across the federal government, space, energy, and emergency response sectors are invited to explore partnership and deployment opportunities as orbital computing moves from concept to commercial reality.
About Sophia Space Inc.
Sophia Space is building the future of orbital computing and in-space data centers. Its modular Tile technology enables in-situ data processing, AI acceleration, and edge computing for satellites, defense systems, and commercial space stations—dramatically reducing latency and delivering actionable insights where and when they are needed. Learn more at www.sophia.space.
About Kepler Communications Inc.
Kepler Communications Inc. is an international satellite telecommunications company, providing global, low-latency connectivity for IoT, enterprise, and space-based applications. Its advanced constellation and network infrastructure enable seamless, high-throughput data transmission, bridging the gap between space operations and Earth-based networks. The company's stated mission is to create the internet for space and allow-in-space communications for the future space economy
Noah Note: I am happy to see Kepler doing good. I don't feel I talk about Kepler a bunch. They're quieter than some of the other big players in the space scene. Thats perfectly fine, because they're doing great stuff, but I do feel bad I can't talk about them as much.
I mean, here is a Canadian company that has made remarkable achievements with their optical relay constellation, being the first company to operate a commercial LEO network that uses laser links to transmit data. Just last month the company announced the official deployment of a distributed, on-orbit computing network across the constellation.
Sadly they just missed a first there, but it is something that should be celebrated. While the comoany obviously doesn't have a defence-first mentality, focusing in on the commercial opportunities, I have a hope that Tranche II set for 2028 looks into the secure infrastructure and security requirements needed to start supporting critical defence applications.
I talked about it yesterday with MDA. There are places where the private sector, with encouragement, can better support National Defence in ways that we can't necessarily do in the needed timeframes. Orbital Relay infrastructure, like we see with Kepler, is something that falls into that category.
It is absolutely something that could be a critical node in our space-based infrastructure, but not necessarily something high on the list of priorities, especially with everything going on and the current large suite of current space-related projects in the works.
Encouraging companies like Kepler to take the steps to fill that gap allows us to rapidly onboard new infrastructure into our network without waiting a decade of more for future constellations we might build. Either way, I am happy for Kepler. I hope they take the next steps to do more on Defence with their constellation, but either way supporting Canada’s Space Industrial Base is important.