The Kenyan American engineer Rama Afullo, a former product manager at Google and SpaceX, has co-founded Satlyt, a company focused on developing software for satellites. The startup has successfully raised $8 million in a seed funding round to enhance the capabilities of satellites by enabling them to share the workload of large computing tasks in space.
Background
Afullo's journey began during his time at SpaceX, where he attempted to pitch the idea of orbital data centers but faced rejection. He later tried the same at Google, only to be met with the same response. This led him to leave SpaceX and establish Satlyt, which is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and Nairobi.
Recent Developments
Satlyt's software is set to launch on a SpaceX rocket, coinciding with the debut of Google's Project Suncatcher, aimed at creating a space data center. Unlike its competitors, Satlyt does not plan to build its own spacecraft but instead focuses on software that operates AI models on existing satellites. Afullo likens Satlyt's approach to that of VMware and Snowflake, which allow users to run complex software without needing to manage the underlying infrastructure.
“"The folks like SpaceX who are doing orbital data centers — if they are the iPhone, we’ll build Android as a horizontally integrated, open ecosystem," Afullo stated.
Operational Efficiency
Satlyt has already tested its software on two demonstration missions. The primary goal is to improve operational efficiencies for spacecraft, which traditionally rely on ground-based flight controllers to address issues. By utilizing AI for decision-making onboard, Satlyt aims to reduce costs associated with data transmission back to Earth, known as downlink, which can be both expensive and slow.
