BENGALURU: India’s space program is beginning to look beyond rockets and orbits to a quieter, less visible frontier: data processing in space.ISRO is studying the feasibility of establishing physical data centers in orbit for on-board processing and storage of satellite and communication data, the department of space (DoS) has confirmed. While the idea remains at a preliminary stage, the confirmation signals a shift in how India is thinking about the future architecture of its space systems.At present, most satellites act as data collectors. Images, signals and measurements gathered in orbit are downlinked to ground stations, where processing, analysis and storage take place. This model works, but it also creates bottlenecks. Bandwidth is limited, downlink windows are finite, and time-critical applications can suffer delays.ISRO’s exploratory work points to a different approach. By equipping satellites with on-board data processing and storage capabilities, only relevant or pre-processed information would need to be transmitted to Earth. “…On-board processing enables flexibility for communication satellites, as the satellite can be reconfigured in-orbit,” union minister Jitendra Singh said on the matter.According to the DoS, preliminary evaluations suggest that a proof-of-concept for edge computing infrastructure in space is feasible, and such a system is already being conceived. The emphasis, however, is on “preliminary” — a full-fledged space-based data center is still some distance away. Isro chairman V Narayanan told TOI: “As part of building futuristic technologies, we are evaluating data processing in space. At this juncture, only preliminary work has happened.” Several technological hurdles remain unresolved. These include reliable in-orbit power generation, advanced thermal management, radiation-hardened CPUs and GPUs capable of sustained computing, and robust security shields to protect orbiting platforms from cyber and physical threats.Unlike Earth-based data centers, which can draw power from the grid and rely on air or liquid cooling, space-based systems operate in an unforgiving environment. Power must be generated through solar arrays or other on-board systems. Heat cannot be dissipated easily in vacuum. Electronics must survive constant exposure to radiation, temperature swings and micrometeoroids. Maintenance, routine on Earth, becomes complex or impossible once hardware is in orbit.The studies so far have been carried out entirely within DoS. The potential applications outlined by the government hint at why the idea is attracting attention. Satellites with on-board processing could significantly reduce latency for time-critical tasks such as disaster management and strategic applications. In scenarios like floods, cyclones or earthquakes, faster processing of satellite imagery could translate into quicker assessments and responses on the ground.For communication satellites, on-board data processing could allow greater flexibility. Satellites could be reconfigured in orbit, adjusting bandwidth allocation or routing data more efficiently without relying entirely on ground-based control and processing. For national security and Earth observation, filtering and analyzing data in space could reduce the volume of sensitive information transmitted, while speeding up actionable intelligence.Globally, interest in space-based computing is growing. As satellite constellations expand and sensors generate ever larger volumes of data, the limits of traditional downlink-and-process models are becoming apparent. Edge computing in space offers a way to manage this data closer to its source.
