01 — Compute

Compute that scales with the spacecraft.

From a single Edge Compute Module in a CubeSat to a Space Data Center rack: one architecture, one software stack, one expansion ecosystem. ECMs for the spacecraft you have, SDC systems for the orbital data center you are planning, and the Power and Data Distribution modules that feed both.

“The smallest platform in space is a CubeSat. The largest is a data center that hasn’t flown yet. We build one compute architecture for both.”
Aethero — compute from 0.5U to the rack

An Edge Compute Module (ECM) is a single space-rated computer that bolts into a spacecraft: NxN in half a CubeSat unit, NxA in two. A Space Data Center (SDC) takes the same compute cards, operating system and expansion ecosystem and pools them — first across a spacecraft, then into nodes and racks for ESPA-class, station and lunar platforms. Same cards, same ECM-OS, same Aether Cloud tooling; only the enclosure and the power budget change.

Edge Compute Modules Space Data Center Power & Data Distribution

01 · CubeSat157TOPSNxN-ECM · 0.5UModule
02 · SmallSat / ESPA4,000TFLOPSNxA-ECM · 2UModule
03 · Distributed spacecraft16,000TFLOPSTitan · 4 × NxA, KubernetesPlatform
04 · SDC node64,000TFLOPSSpace Data Center · nodeSDC
05 · SDC rack896,000TFLOPSSpace Data Center · rackSDC

Edge Compute Modules

ECM. Scalable to spacecraft power and thermal limits.

Flight-proven modules sharing one software stack and one expansion ecosystem — NVIDIA today, Intel x86 and AMD adaptive-SoC modules in development, custom RISC-V silicon on the roadmap.

NxN-ECM enclosure front with lockable I/O plate

TRL-9

NxN-ECMNVIDIA Orin NX / Nano

0.5U CubeSat-native module. Interchangeable NX or Nano SoM; Super Mode on NX. Flown on Deimos and Phobos.

NxA-ECMNVIDIA AGX / IGX Thor or Orin

2U module with dual compute cards, Blackwell-based Thor silicon and RAID storage. Flies on Titan on Transporter-19, Q1 2027.

4,000+TFLOPSPer module

IxS-ECMIntel × Starfire · x86 + NPU + GPU

Enterprise-class x86 module built on Intel Starfire: 8 CPU cores (4 P-core + 4 LPE-core) with integrated NPU and Xe GPU on one space-grade SoC. Consolidates flight, mission and AI workloads with virtualized, mixed-criticality partitioning and a mature x86 software ecosystem.

80TOPSAI compute (up to)

10–35WConfigurable TDP

-55/125°CTj operating

IxS-ECM

In development

AxV-ECMAMD × Versal™ AI Edge Series Gen 2

Adaptive-SoC module built on AMD Versal AI Edge Gen 2: up to 8× Arm Cortex-A78AE and 10× Cortex-R52 cores, AIE-ML v2 AI Engines and programmable logic on one device. Deterministic real-time control, sensor-front-end processing in fabric, and radiation-tolerant XQR options for the harshest orbits.

184TOPSINT8 dense (up to)

8+10A78AE + R52 cores

500K+LUTProgrammable logic

AxV-ECM

In development

0x1-ECMAethero RISC-V custom silicon

First-generation in-house RISC-V silicon for in-sensor computational processing — compute where the photons land. Release date to be announced.

Gen 1Custom silicon

In-sensorProcessing

TBDRelease

Power & Data Distribution

Feed the module. Then the rest of the bus.

Three 10 × 10 cm modules in the same enclosure outline as NxN and NxA. They take the spacecraft's raw power and network and turn it into switched, monitored, software-controlled rails and ports — for Aethero compute and for every other payload on board.

PDMTRL-8

Power Distribution Module

Four independently switched, software-adjustable payload rails from a regulated 28 V bus, every rail metered. An onboard rad-hard-option MCU exposes low-level TT&C over CAN and RS-485, reads multiple external sensor inputs, and powers the DDM over a board-to-board connector.

Input: 26–32 VDC · 24 A · 600 W
Outputs: 4 ch · 5 V to V_IN−2 V · 8-bit adjustable · 6 A / 144 W each
Telemetry: V + I on input and every channel · onboard temperature
Control: CAN & RS-485 pass-through TT&C · I²C · external sensor inputs
MCU: Rad-hard Microchip MCU
Form: 10 × 10 × 2.5 cm · blank expansion-module enclosure

DDMTRL-8

Data Distribution Module

A managed, space-rated Ethernet switch built on a Microchip/Marvell switching core and a rugged connector system already flying in space and defense. Link-aggregated uplinks to the compute module, downlinks to payloads, and PoE SKUs that power sensors over the same cable.

SKUs: 1 GbE · 1 GbE + PoE · 10 GbE multispeed · 10 GbE multispeed + PoE
Uplink: 2 × GbE / 10GbE multispeed with link aggregation
Downlink: Up to 4 × GbE / 10GbE payload ports
Core: Microchip/Marvell switching core with integrated copper PHY
Power: 26 V from PDM board-to-board · 250 mA (non-PoE)
Form: 10 × 10 cm · NxN / NxA enclosure outline

Exploded view of the stacked PDM + DDM module: lid, DDM board, PDM board, base and connectors

PDM + DDMTRL-8 · Combined module

Power & Data Distribution Module

PDM and DDM stacked in one enclosure over the board-to-board connector: one box that takes bus power and bus Ethernet in, and hands four monitored rails and switched network ports to the payload deck — with TT&C on CAN or RS-485 independent of the data plane.

Power: 4 switched, metered rails · 144 W each
Network: Any DDM SKU, 1 GbE to 10 GbE, PoE optional
Control: CAN · RS-485 · I²C · external sensor inputs
Form: 10 × 10 cm · single stacked enclosure

PCDMTRL-8

Power Conversion & Distribution Module

For high-power platforms: steps an unregulated 30–50 V battery bus down to four isolated 26 V channels at up to 624 W each — enough to run an NxA-ECM pair, radios and payloads from a single box. Customisable per mission, from the capacitive load the bus must tolerate to rad-hard or commercial converter builds.

Input: 30–50 VDC · up to 90 A / 2,700 W · pre-charge limited
Outputs: 4 isolated ch · 26 V fixed · 24 A / 624 W each · 2 connectors per channel
Efficiency: ≈30 W loss per channel at full load (50 → 26 V)
Converter: TI rad-hard GaN FET buck converters
Customisation: Input capacitance, inrush profile, channel count, connector set
Form: 10 × 10 cm · 2 channels per PCB

Space Data Center systems

SDC. The same card, pooled.

Where ECM is one module on one spacecraft, SDC takes the identical NxA or NxN card and clusters it — 16 to a node, 14 nodes to a rack — over a redundant 2D torus with liquid-and-conduction cooling.

Architecture

SDC rackUp to 14 nodes · 224 cards

Mezzanine node-to-node interconnect extends the torus across the rack; internal manifolds carry heat to an external loop. Compute, storage and partner boxes in any mix.

896,000TFLOPSPer rack

SDC box familyNxA · NxN · NVIDIA Space-1 · AMD · Intel · Resilient storage

Every box presents the same end plate — connector, coolant, torus ports — so NVIDIA, AMD, Intel and next-generation Space-1 compute sit beside resilient storage nodes in one rack.

Common architecture

Same stack. Any scale.

Both modules run ECM-OS, speak CSP, update over the air through Aether and cluster with Kubernetes. Start with one, grow to a rack.

1MODULAR

Single module

One ECM per spacecraft as payload processor or OBC
Hypervisor and containerized apps
Multi-process-service resource allocation

NREDUNDANT

Multiple redundant

Hot or cold spares with smart power arbitration
Checkpointing and resilient filesystems
Watchdog-supervised failover

∞DISTRIBUTED

Distributed cluster

Daisy-chained Ethernet or server-rack format
Kubernetes orchestration across modules
Space data center and supercomputer use cases

Side by side

Choose your scale.

Every tier runs the same ECM-OS, Aether and container tooling — moving up is a configuration change, not a rewrite.

Specification	NxN-ECMEdge module	NxA-ECMEdge module	TitanPlatform	SDC rackSpace data center
Processor	NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX or Nano	NVIDIA Jetson AGX/IGX Thor or Orin, dual cards	Clustered NxA + NxN modules	224 NxA / NxN cards · 14 nodes
AI compute	Up to 157 TOPS	4,000+ TFLOPS per module	Up to 16,000 TFLOPS distributed	Up to 896,000 TFLOPS per rack
Envelope	0.5U · 50 × 100 × 100 mm	2U · 200 × 100 × 100 mm	ESPA-class · EnduroSat FRAME-15	Full-height rack · 16-card nodes
Storage	Resilient filesystems, custom EDAC	Dual NVMe per card · RAID · BTRFS/ZFS · checkpointing	Terabyte-scale, pooled across modules	Disaggregated, pooled by node BMC
Radiation	50+ kRad TID, hardened by system design	50+ kRad TID, hardened by system design	Module-level hardening + bus shielding	Card-level hardening · redundant torus paths
Vibration	25 GRMS	25 GRMS	Launch-qualified with bus	Qualified per node
Power	Smart arbitration, rad-hard supervisor	Smart arbitration, rad-hard supervisor	3.4 kW peak platform power	16 kW+ peak per rack · liquid & conduction cooled
Configurations	Modular · redundant · distributed	Single or dual card · hybrid Thor + Orin · redundant · distributed	Kubernetes node; constellation-ready	Local + global 2D torus · Kubernetes cluster
Expansion	Native NxN expansion ecosystem	NxN ecosystem via interposer	Hosted payload slots; Scanway imager	Mezzanine node-to-node interconnect
Readiness	TRL-9	TRL-8	TRL-8	Architecture · 2026
Heritage	Deimos 2024 · Phobos 2026	Titan, Transporter-19	Launch Q1 2027	Same card as Titan, Phobos, Deimos
Best for	CubeSats, EO payloads, OBC + AI in one box	High-end ISR, SAR/HSI, multi-tenant compute	Orbital data center, telecom, CDN, SDA	Multi-rack orbital, lunar and Mars infrastructure

Several NxN-ECM modules stacked with daisy-chained Ethernet

NxN expansion stackDaisy-chain Ethernet

Expansion ecosystem

Plug in the rest of the spacecraft.

A high-density board-to-board expansion interface carries power, PCIe, Ethernet and low-speed I/O to a growing family of expansion modules. The NxA accepts the same modules through an interposer.

PDM/DDM
Power & Data DistributionSwitched rails, managed Ethernet and TT&C — see modules.
PC-104
Bus adapterInterface to your bus manufacturer's PC-104 stack.
PCIe
Full-size PCIe expansionAccelerators, capture cards and storage.
FPGA
RT PolarFire FPGA moduleDeterministic I/O, Camera Link ingest, custom logic.
OBC
Onboard computer moduleVectorNav VN-310 IMU + NovAtel OEM7 GNSS.
SDR
Software-defined radioEpiq Sidekiq Stretch, DVB-S2X IP core, power amplifier.
THERMAL
Radiator expansion modulesCubeSat-compatible radiators for a range of external view factors.

Qualification

Simulated, then shaken, baked and flown.

Ansys HFSS, SIwave, EMC Plus, Icepak, Thermal Desktop and STK size every design before a board is fabricated. Then we test as we fly — and results have matched.