Miles Jamison 
- Kepler’s network lets customers process and move data while spacecraft remain in orbit
- The constellation supports defense, intelligence and space domain awareness missions
- Kepler plans to deploy another tranche of spacecraft in 2028
Kepler Communications has begun commercial operations for its next-generation optical data relay network following the commissioning of its first spacecraft tranche launched in January, the space infrastructure provider announced Monday. The company described the service as the first commercial space data relay service available.
Mina Mitry, CEO and co-founder of Kepler, said reaching commercial operations at scale is significant for the company.
“Over the past several years, we’ve demonstrated what’s possible with optical networking in space,” said Mitry.
What Does Kepler’s Network Provide?
The Toronto-based company said its constellation supports commercial and government customers with real-time space operations. The network uses optical inter-satellite links, onboard computing and hosted payloads through an IP-based architecture. Kepler’s first tranche consists of 10 satellites equipped with high-capacity optical terminals and on-orbit computing capabilities.
Customers can transmit, process and distribute data while it remains in orbit, Kepler said. The company’s distributed computing architecture uses NVIDIA-powered edge computing to process data within the constellation, reducing the need to send information to Earth before it can be analyzed or acted on. The company cited defense, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, space domain awareness and Earth observation among the applications supported by the network.
The onboard computing capability doubles as a platform for hosted payloads, giving customers a way to run their own sensors and applications on infrastructure that already provides connectivity and processing power.
What Comes Next for the Constellation?
Kepler plans to deploy another tranche of spacecraft through multiple launches in 2028, including a dedicated Rocket Lab mission. In August, the company selected Rocket Lab’s Neutron launch vehicle for its first dedicated launch mission, which is scheduled for no earlier than 2028.
The expanded constellation is expected to provide greater network capacity, resilience and performance, with optical terminals capable of data rates of up to 100 Gbps. The company also identified the European Space Agency’s HydRON program as one of its future missions.
