India's First Orbital Data Centre Satellite to Launch by 2026

Pixxel, a Bengaluru-based imaging satellite company, announced on May 4 that it will partner with AI firm Sarvam to launch India's first orbital data centre satellite, named Pathfinder, by the fourth quarter of 2026. The 200 kg class satellite will carry datacentre-class GPUs alongside Pixxel's hyperspectral imaging camera, allowing for AI model training and inference in orbit.

The Pathfinder satellite is designed to test whether ground-grade hardware can function reliably in the harsh environment of low Earth orbit, where solar power is effectively continuous and offers free electricity.

The launch of Pathfinder is part of a growing trend of space-based computation, driven by the limitations of traditional data centres on Earth, including energy availability, land, water, and local regulation.

The Pathfinder satellite will be designed, built, launched, and operated by Pixxel, with Sarvam providing the AI backbone, including full-stack language models. The satellite's immediate use case will be to analyse imagery captured in orbit, with only the conclusions transmitted to Earth.

The court will not be involved in this matter, but the Indian Space Research Organisation and other launch providers are potential partners for the launch, with the choice to be determined by slot availability. The next steps will involve finalising the satellite's design and launch preparations, with Pixxel's CEO Awais Ahmed stating that the company aims to launch the satellite before the end of 2026.