The Sophia Space company agreed with the leasing operator SLI on a financing scheme for orbital computing devices. The partner buys ready-made equipment from the manufacturer and further leases it to users for a fixed monthly or quarterly fee. The financial framework of the agreement is 300 million US dollars and is designed for ten TILE series devices. Once deployed, their combined power will match 240 modern peripheral servers. Payments are tied to the production schedule and launches, and the lease term covers the entire project period of operation. The first launches are planned not earlier 2028 year.
For reference: Sophia Space is an American space technology startup, which is developing the world's first scalable orbiting data center infrastructure.
TILE (Integrated Thermal Peripheral Computing System for Low Earth Orbit) is a patented modular flat computing unit (server) Sophia Space, що масштабується і призначений для створення великих орбітальних дата-центрів.
Необхідність орбітальних обчислень зумовлена тим, that remote sensing equipment collects significantly more data, than manages to transfer to Earth. Processing of information directly on board allows to reduce delays and transfer the already ready result. Among the fields of application is Earth observation, weather analytics, supply chain management, preparation for natural disasters, as well as the intelligence segment, Observation and reconnaissance.
The model of financing through the purchase of an asset followed by a lease has long been used in transportation and energy. At the same time, the key difference is that, that a malfunctioning satellite in orbit cannot be returned, therefore, the rental price must take into account the relevant risks in advance. So far, the parties have only recorded their intentions in the letter of support, and the practical verification of the model should be carried out by the insurance market of orbital assets.
Source: https://universemagazine.com