Real-Time Intelligence Delivery, Highly Secured Edge Compute for Hypersonic Detection

Nebula Compute, Inc., a U.S. company led by national security and aerospace veterans, is answering the urgent need for secure, low-latency space-based data processing. Nebula’s solution, terrestrial-grade data center servers hardened for the space environment, is capable of running advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) and data analytics directly from orbit. Even more critically, Nebula’s system features quantum random number generation (QRNG) for source-level encryption, delivering quantum-resilient encryption orchestration and computing at the edge of space. This enables faster computing resulting in faster delivery of actionable intelligence, with a high level of protection against interception, tampering and/or jamming. This innovative approach has gained support from major industry players: in August 2021, Microsoft entered into a joint R&D agreement with Nebula to evaluate the use of terrestrial servers in space, results that are now incorporated into the Nimbus payload design. In 2022, IBM’s Space Chief Technology Officer (CTO) signed an MOU with Nebula to operate Redhat Cloud capabilities on orbit (something not done by any other company), and Nebula was later approved as an authorized IBM Redhat Cloud reseller, enabling commercial engagement for upcoming missions. Additionally, Nebula was included in the Starburst accelerator program in 2021 and the Decisive Point’s Propel program in 2022. This isn’t a typical space payload. Nebula’s system brings real-time intelligence to the point of need processing complex satellite data on-orbit and securely delivering actionable insights to warfighters without relying on vulnerable ground relays and associated delays. In the harsh space environment, where radiation, vacuum, and temperature swings routinely destroy commercial hardware, Nebula’s Nimbus System has successfully completed 4 radiation tests to date. If funded, this Phase II effort will complete testing, modeling, and simulation in a representative environment and elevate the technology from TRL 4 to TRL 6, a critical steph in the path for operational deployment with End Users such as the Information Directorate of the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL). For the warfighter, Nebula offers a faster, more secure information and data pipeline that is critical for decision makers outpacing near-peer threats in the modern battlespace.