During recent ground tests, Boeing engineers demonstrated, that a large language model, launched on commercial off-the-shelf equipment, can analyze telemetry and report satellite status in natural language. Arvel Chappell, director of the Boeing Space Mission Systems Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, explained, that the creation of such a model was due to the desire to communicate with the satellite in natural language and receive a meaningful response, instead of zeros and ones, which ground software and engineers have to decipher.
For reference: Laboratory of artificial intelligence (AI Lab) Boeing Space Mission Systems created in 2025 year. AI Lab engineers are testing ways to increase the autonomy of satellites and simplify their operation.
Traditionally, satellites transmit telemetry to Earth for analysis. Increasingly, companies are developing edge computers for satellites or shielding ground devices for use in space.
Hardware, certified for space, often does not have enough memory and processing power for large language models. Because the certification process for space equipment can take years, Boeing engineers modified a large language model, so that it works on already existing equipment.
Arvel Chappell reported, that the company is looking to create a path for its current constellation of satellites, to enable AI model processing in space. Test results have proven, that this feature can be implemented through a software update.
Source: https://spacenews.com