- Nvidia unveils hardware for use in orbital data centers
- The Space-1 Vera Rubin Module will offer huge increases in power and efficiency, with the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPU back on Erath to process the data
- Six space companies have already signed up to work with Nvidia
Nvidia has laid out its plans to help launch the next generation of “space innovation” – namely by boosting data centers in space with the latest AI capabilities.
At Nvidia GTC 2026, the company revealed how its hardware helps partners and “space operators” become more efficient and powerful, especially for operations like disaster response, climate and weather forecasting, and more.
This includes the Space-1 Vera Rubin Module, Nvidia’s latest tool for orbital data centers (ODCs) running LLMs and advanced foundation models, which include a Rubin GPU that delivers up to 25 times more AI computation than its H100, and high-bandwidth connectivity to process massive data streams from space-based instruments in real-time
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Looking ahead
Nvidia notes that such power increases will enable space-based inference, with its IGX Thor and Jetson Orin platforms offering energy-efficient, high-performance AI inference, image capture and accelerated data processing to enable true edge computing on circuits in a compact module.
It will also help AI applications operate seamlessly, “from ground to space and space to space”, while supporting increasingly complex missions and ODCs becoming more widespread.
Elsewhere, Nvidia’s data center platforms back on planet Earth, including the RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Server Edition GPU, will provide high-throughput, on-demand processing for geospatial intelligence, delivering up to 100 times faster performance compared to legacy CPU-based batch systems when analyzing massive image data archives, such as weather data archives.
The platform will also help AI applications operate seamlessly, “ground-to-space and space-to-space,” while supporting increasingly complex missions and ODCs becoming more widespread.
All of this should help unlock processes such as on-orbit analytics, autonomous scientific discovery and rapid insight generation, pushing space technology even further, with six commercial space companies believed to have already deployed the Space-1 Vera Rubin Module.
“Space computing, the final frontier, has arrived. As we deploy satellite constellations and explore deeper into space, intelligence must live wherever data is generated,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia.
“AI that processes between space and ground systems enables real-time detection, decision-making and autonomy, transforming orbital data centers into discovery instruments and spacecraft into self-navigating systems. With our partners, we are expanding Nvidia beyond our planet – boldly taking intelligence where it has never gone before.”
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