Orbital Plans Orca Autonomy Software for Data-Center Satellites

Orbital and Orca Aerospace have a reported letter of intent covering onboard autonomy software for Orbital’s planned data-center satellites. The software is intended to support navigation and operations, including maneuvering, handling tasks and responding to faults, with human involvement when needed.

Key details

• The reported agreement includes an integration fee and per-satellite license fee, with a potential value of up to $20 million.
• Orca plans to integrate its software with the flight-software stack used by Orbital satellite-bus partner Reflex Aerospace.
• The software is scheduled to fly on Orbital-1 in 2028; a Pathfinder spacecraft test could take place in July 2027.
• Orbital’s reported fleet targets are 10 satellites in 2029, 100 in 2030 and 1,000 in 2031.
• The companies have described a possible longer-term model in which Orbital satellites provide computing resources for Orca’s platform, allowing other spacecraft to connect through the satellites rather than only through ground systems.
• Orca’s reported architecture combines AI-generated recommendations, rules-based command generation and a safety check against mission and vehicle constraints. The system would begin by reporting telemetry for human review before expanding autonomy in stages.

Orbital’s planned fleet targets 1,000 satellites by 2031.