# Kepler Communications (Kepler Compute): orbital data center program

> Canada (Other (Canada, Kenya)), startup. Stage 7 of 7: Operational service. It commissioned compute across its 10-satellite tranche on 2026-03-16 and opened it to commercial customers on 2026-04-13 (reported). Axiom bought two compute payloads; 18 customers were reported (TechCrunch, 2026-04-13); no customer workload results have been published.

- Canonical page: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers/kepler-compute
- This Markdown version: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers/kepler-compute.md
- Data as of: 2026-10-05 (last evidence review)
- How the numbers are made: https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers#method

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## Stage evidence

- It commissioned compute across its 10-satellite tranche on 2026-03-16 and opened it to commercial customers on 2026-04-13 (reported). Axiom bought two compute payloads; 18 customers were reported (TechCrunch, 2026-04-13); no customer workload results have been published. Sources: [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/the-largest-orbital-compute-cluster-is-open-for-business/); [SatNews](https://satnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/); [BetaKit](https://betakit.com/kepler-communications-sells-its-first-on-orbit-compute-power-to-axiom-space/)

## Key figures

- Satellites in Tranche 1: 10 satellites. Sources: [GlobeNewswire](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html)
- GPU modules in orbit: 40 NVIDIA Jetson Orin. Sources: [SmallSat News](https://smallsatnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/)

## Approach

- Orbit: LEO (SSO)
- Architecture: Optical data relay constellation whose satellites carry multi-GPU compute modules and storage; hosts Axiom's first two ODC nodes
- Power: Not disclosed (about 300 kg satellites)
- Cooling: Not disclosed
- Compute: 40 NVIDIA Jetson Orin modules across 10 satellites (4 each); 2.5 Gbps SDA-compatible optical links
- Customers: Government and commercial spacecraft; Axiom Space; Sophia Space

## Milestones

| Date | Status | Confidence | Milestone | Sources |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2023-04-13 | achieved | Confirmed | Plan: launch the optical network in 2024, services by Q1 2025. The network launched on 2026-01-11, about 21 months after the 2024 target. | [Via Satellite](https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2023/04/13/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-in-a-series-c-round/); [SDxCentral](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-for-optical-satellite-relay-network/) |
| 2026-01-11 | achieved | Confirmed | First tranche of 10 optical relay satellites launched, carrying Axiom's first two ODC nodes. Falcon 9 from Vandenberg. | [GlobeNewswire](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html); [Kepler Communications](https://kepler.space/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites/) |
| 2026-03-16 | achieved | Confirmed | Kepler Compute commissioned: 40 Jetson Orin modules across 10 satellites | [SmallSat News](https://smallsatnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/); [SatNews](https://satnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/) |
| 2026-04-13 | achieved | Reported | Compute opened to commercial customers | [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/the-largest-orbital-compute-cluster-is-open-for-business/) |

## Announced next steps (as the organisation stated them)

- 2028: Next tranche across multiple launches, including a dedicated Rocket Lab launch, with up to 100 Gbps links. Sources: [Kepler](https://kepler.space/kepler-delivers-optical-infrastructure-for-real-time-space-operations/)

## What to watch (SpaceNexus note, not a prediction)

Named paying compute customers beyond Axiom and Sophia.

## Funding

- 13 Apr 2023: Series C, $92M. relay network round; context only, not counted in totals. Sources: [SDxCentral](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-for-optical-satellite-relay-network/); [Via Satellite](https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2023/04/13/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-in-a-series-c-round/)

## Cautions

- Jetson-class edge compute (tens of watts per module), not data-center power.
- "Largest orbital compute cluster" is the TechCrunch headline framing.

## People

- Mina Mitry (CEO)

## Sources

- [TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/13/the-largest-orbital-compute-cluster-is-open-for-business/)
- [SatNews](https://satnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/)
- [BetaKit](https://betakit.com/kepler-communications-sells-its-first-on-orbit-compute-power-to-axiom-space/)
- [GlobeNewswire](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/01/11/3216480/0/en/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites.html)
- [SmallSat News](https://smallsatnews.com/2026/03/17/kepler-commissions-first-nvidia-powered-cloud-infrastructure-across-optical-constellation/)
- [Kepler Communications](https://kepler.space/kepler-successfully-launches-first-tranche-of-optical-relay-satellites/)
- [Via Satellite](https://www.satellitetoday.com/finance/2023/04/13/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-in-a-series-c-round/)
- [SDxCentral](https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/kepler-communications-raises-92-million-for-optical-satellite-relay-network/)
- [Kepler](https://kepler.space/kepler-delivers-optical-infrastructure-for-real-time-space-operations/)

## Licence and credits

- Licence: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) for the stage, labels and summaries compiled by SpaceNexus. Cite as "Data: SpaceNexus (spacenexus.us)" with a link to https://spacenexus.us/orbital-data-centers/kepler-compute.
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