{"id":17094,"date":"2025-09-13T01:56:31","date_gmt":"2025-09-12T17:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/how-ai-and-other-trends-in-technology-are-starting-to-supercharge-the-space-industry\/"},"modified":"2025-09-13T01:56:31","modified_gmt":"2025-09-12T17:56:31","slug":"how-ai-and-other-trends-in-technology-are-starting-to-supercharge-the-space-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/how-ai-and-other-trends-in-technology-are-starting-to-supercharge-the-space-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"How AI and other trends in technology are starting to supercharge the space industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The first mission for Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Ring orbital maneuvering vehicle, scheduled for next year, serves as an example of multiple trends driving progress in the space industry. (Blue Origin Illustration)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Artificial intelligence and other technological trends are smoothing the way for commercial space ventures ranging from multibillion-dollar companies to a new wave of startups.<\/p>\n

It probably comes as no surprise that Blue Origin, the space company created by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, is taking advantage of AI. \u201cYou can imagine this is a favorite area of our founder,\u201d said Ariane Cornell, Blue Origin\u2019s vice president of New Glenn strategy and business operations. \u201cSo, just generally, we are using it across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

But other AI-fueled applications might raise an eyebrow. For example, Rebel Space is helping satellite companies generate synthetic data that could point to a potential valve failure long before the spacecraft is launched.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe AI you trained would see it, and you would prevent a massive mission failure in the future,\u201d said Carrie Marshall, the startup\u2019s co-founder and CEO.<\/p>\n

Cornell, Marshall and other executives reflected on the trends accelerating the space industry this week during the Seattle Space Superiority Summit, presented on Thursday by FUSE VC at the Museum of Flight. AI figures in several of those trends. Here\u2019s a breakdown:<\/p>\n

National security needs<\/h3>\n

There\u2019s a rising tide of interest in orbital transfer vehicles for a variety of applications, including satellite servicing and multi-satellite deployment. But capabilities that address national security concerns \u2014 for example, maneuvering a satellite out of harm\u2019s way or challenging a threatening spacecraft \u2014 are among the biggest drivers behind that interest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a need to move over long ranges quickly in space that did not exist when space was not being considered a contested domain,\u201d said Ian Vorbach, co-founder and chief operating officer of Bothell, Wash.-based Portal Space Systems. Portal\u2019s Supernova space mobility platform is designed to address that need, with Pentagon backing.<\/p>\n

Other companies working on in-space mobility include Blue Origin and Tukwila, Wash.-based Starfish Space. Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Ring platform is due to fly its first mission next year, with an AI-enabled sensor built by Scout Space for the Space Force as the first announced payload. Meanwhile, Starfish Space is testing its second Otter Pup prototype in orbit, in preparation for a full-scale demonstration mission that could take place next year with Space Force funding.<\/p>\n

The Trump administration\u2019s plans for a missile defense system known as Golden Dome are likely to lead to more contracts for commercial space ventures, potentially focusing on in-space sensing and data processing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are certain cases where the latency of sending stuff down, making a decision and going back out is probably not a very healthy or a very safe thing to have,\u201d said Gareth Keane, a partner at the IQT venture capital firm (a.k.a. In-Q-Tel), which focuses on national security applications. \u201cThese are particularly in areas like the 200-plus billion dollars that we\u2019re going to spend on Golden Dome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Space as a data frontier<\/h3>\n

In-space data processing will be valuable in fields that go far beyond national security. Nathan Stein, co-founder and founding scientist at Matter Intelligence, said it\u2019s crucial for his company to winnow through the geospatial data that\u2019s collected by his company\u2019s space sensors while that data is still on the spacecraft.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of having to downlink hundreds of gigabytes of data for a single collect, can we produce Level 3 analytics products and directly downlink those, saving both cost and time?\u201d he said. \u201cFor us, there\u2019s just a direct correlation between how many images we collect and how much revenue you get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another potential application involves shifting data centers from terrestrial locations to orbital spots where those power-intensive facilities can draw upon space-based solar power. Redmond, Wash.-based Starcloud is planning to test the concept with NVIDIA computer chips during a demonstration mission that\u2019s due for launch as early as November.<\/p>\n

Waiting for bigger rockets<\/h3>\n

Lots of space startups are looking forward to the ascendancy of SpaceX\u2019s Starship super-rocket, which is currently under development and should be capable of sending more than 100 tons of payload into low Earth orbit. Blue Origin\u2019s New Glenn rocket, which had its first launch in January and can put 45 tons of payload in orbit, will be a big contributor as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of competing with terrestrial data centers on energy costs, we are dependent on the launch cost coming down at least one order of magnitude,\u201d Starcloud CEO Philip Johnston said. \u201cWhen Starship or New Glenn or other launch vehicles come online, then we\u2019re in a position to be able to move.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike DeRosa, co-founder and chief marketing officer for Marysville, Wash.-based Gravitics, said he felt the same way about the prospects for getting its space station modules into orbit. \u201cI\u2019m so excited about the new vehicles that are coming online, and Stoke and [Rocket Lab\u2019s] Neutron and New Glenn,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re in that fun place where we don\u2019t want to leap forward, but we\u2019re also like, \u2018Oh, let\u2019s get to next year when we can actually book a Starship launch.’\u201d<\/p>\n

There are also reports that SpaceX is working on a project known as Starfall, which would use Starship as a platform for in-space drug research and product development. That would represent yet another product line for SpaceX, which has already branched out from the rocket business with its Starlink satellite broadband network. <\/p>\n

Andy Lapsa, co-founder and CEO of Kent, Wash.-based Stoke Space, said he\u2019s not worried that Starship\u2019s rise will hurt his own startup. \u201cI\u2019m excited about Starship,\u201d he said. \u201cI think a successful Starship helps this entire industry move forward. And I think it\u2019s not a zero-sum game. At this point in the industry, a rising tide raises all ships.\u201d<\/p>\n

To the moon and back<\/h3>\n

NASA\u2019s Artemis moon program is a multibillion-dollar opportunity for Blue Origin and other commercial space ventures. In 2023, a team led by Bezos\u2019 space venture won a $3.4 billion contract from NASA to build a lunar landing system for crewed moon missions beginning as early as 2029. An uncrewed demonstration mission, involving Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Moon Mark 1 lander, is said to be scheduled for next year.<\/p>\n

Blue Origin is also working on a project called Blue Alchemist, which aims to extract materials from moon dirt and turn them into solar cells, construction materials and oxygen for lunar settlements. This week, Blue Origin said that the Blue Alchemist system successfully completed its critical design review.<\/p>\n

Another Seattle-area company, Interlune, has its own plans to extract valuable materials from lunar soil. The startup\u2019s first target is helium-3, which is more plentiful on the moon than it is on Earth and can be used in applications ranging from quantum computing to nuclear fusion.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur vision is really big,\u201d Interlune co-founder and CEO Rob Meyerson said. \u201cWe want to put a fleet of five electric harvesters on the moon in the 2030s that\u2019ll extract this helium-3 gas and bring it back to Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Down-to-Earth applications<\/h3>\n

Some space-centric companies plan to make at least some of their money down here on Earth. For example, Stoke Space has spawned a venture called BoltLine to commercialize the software platform it uses to track timelines for product development.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see it going further into areas of timekeeping as well as cost tracking, really giving us very accurate models for how much things cost \u2014 which could be utilized across the board, or if you\u2019re developing satellites, or if you\u2019re actually looking at how much it would cost to change frequency bands, change the type of hardware, any of those types of things,\u201d said Kelly Hennig, Stoke Space\u2019s chief operating officer. \u201cAnd so I see that as being a very, very good opportunity for us to incorporate AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

AI also plays a big role in Amazon\u2019s Project Kuiper satellite broadband network, which is scheduled to begin delivering service to customers by the end of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cKuiper is a software-defined network, and so AI can have huge productivity gains,\u201d said Chris Weber, Amazon\u2019s vice president of sales and marketing for Project Kuiper. \u201cI\u2019d say the single biggest thing outside engineering, software, etc., is the way we manage the network and manage capacity to provide a superior experience to customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Project Kuiper\u2019s main objective is to offer high-speed internet access to millions of people around the globe who are currently underserved, but Weber said he\u2019s learning about use cases that he hadn\u2019t thought about when he joined the Kuiper team 13 months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just announced a deal with JetBlue,\u201d he noted. \u201cWe\u2019re very excited about how that\u2019s going to be game-changing for anybody who\u2019s had poor connectivity or inefficient connectivity on a plane. A couple of the new ones that I\u2019m learning about, I\u2019m still very clueless.\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, low-latency broadband access is a big deal for high-frequency market trading. \u201cThe amount of money people are willing to pay for every millisecond of performance advantage is huge,\u201d Weber said.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the golf circuit. \u201cPGA Tour was interesting,\u201d Weber said. \u201cFor every tournament, they lay down 40 miles of fiber. \u2026 So whether it\u2019s us or others they look at, they can do a massive reduction in the efforts to get those tournaments. And you can take almost any remote sporting event, be they PGA or Formula One. All of them have the same issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Previously: Xplore shows off satellite view of North Korea<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The first mission for Blue Origin\u2019s Blue Ring orbital maneuvering vehicle, scheduled for next year, serves as an example of multiple trends driving progress in the space industry. (Blue Origin Illustration) Artificial intelligence and other technological trends are smoothing the way for commercial space ventures ranging from multibillion-dollar companies to a new wave of startups. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[275,130,509,962,21],"class_list":["post-17094","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-amazon","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-blue-origin","tag-project-kuiper","tag-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17094"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17094"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17094\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17094"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17094"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17094"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}