High-tech computing capabilities to be tested in lunar orbit, support data centers around moon

Rendering of Firefly’s Elytra vehicle in lunar orbit with Starcloud’s compute payload onboard.Firefly Aerospace A new commercial payload agreement will demonstrate advanced AI computing capabilities in lunar orbit. Starcloud revealed that its computing payload, designated SC-1L, will fly onboard Firefly’s Elytra orbital vehicle to validate the core capabilities of a future data center around the moon that can support lunar surface and orbital infrastructure. Pairing Starcloud’s AI computing payload with our Elytra vehicle “We’re proud to collaborate with innovative customers like Starcloud and collectively take another step toward establishing the infrastructure that will power a permanent human and robotic presence at the Moon,” said Ray Allensworth, Vice President of Spacecraft at Firefly Aerospace. “By pairing Starcloud’s AI computing payload with our Elytra vehicle and Solux vision system, we’re demonstrating how data can be captured, processed, and delivered from lunar orbit, laying the groundwork for the computing infrastructure future lunar operations will depend on.”Integrated on Elytra, Starcloud’s SC-1L processor will ingest data from Firefly’s onboard Solux vision system, perform high-power AI computing on orbit, and rapidly transmit the processed data back to Earth. The demonstration builds directly on Starcloud’s recent AI computing demonstration in low Earth orbit, extending those proven capabilities into lunar orbit, according to details available.Starcloud is being onboarded to Firefly’s third lunar mission that’s targeted to launch no earlier than 2028. For this mission, Firefly’s Elytra orbiter will first serve as the transfer vehicle and communications relay for Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander that will land on the Moon’s Gruithuisen Domes and operate several science and technology instruments as part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative. Following completion of the mission, Elytra will remain in lunar orbit for five years to enable customer payload and imaging operations, including Starcloud’s demonstration, according to a press release. High-power AI computing “Space is the future of data centers, and the Moon is the next frontier for that vision,” said Ezra Feilden, Cofounder and CTO at Starcloud. “We successfully validated our ability to run and train AI models on enterprise grade GPUs in low Earth orbit, and now we’re taking this proven technology to lunar orbit. Onboard Firefly’s Elytra vehicle, we’ll demonstrate high-power AI computing and further prove we can process massive volumes of data right where it’s generated to support the growing infrastructure beyond Earth.”Formerly known as Sol3, Firefly’s Solux vision system onboard Elytra enables spacecraft to autonomously navigate, land, and track their orientation in space environments where Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) and GPS are unavailable. Elytra will also have high-resolution telescopes onboard to enable Firefly’s Ocula lunar imaging service that provides advanced lunar surface mapping, mineral detection, and reconnaissance.This will be the second Elytra vehicle Firefly is deploying to lunar orbit following the launch of Blue Ghost Mission 2, targeted for no earlier than 2027. Each Elytra vehicle is designed to remain in lunar orbit for up to five years, enabling more rapid revisit times of the lunar surface for government and commercial customers, as per the release.Get the latest in engineering, tech, space & science - delivered daily to your inbox.Prabhat, an alumnus of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication, is a tech and defense journalist. While he enjoys writing on modern weapons and emerging tech, he has also reported on global politics and business. He has been previously associated with well-known media houses, including the International Business Times (Singapore Edition) and ANI.