SPUTNIX Group at DATA FUSION 2026: Artificial Intelligence Becomes the Driver of Space Systems

   Milana Elderova, First Deputy CEO of SPUTNIX, presented the company’s vision of the transition from simple imaging to hybrid space systems with on‑board data processing.

   “The satellite Earth remote sensing (ERS) market is moving away from basic imaging toward hybrid systems featuring on‑board data processing. Today, artificial intelligence on board spacecraft is used for three main tasks: predicting equipment failures; adaptive route planning for imaging; and image processing — which is the most in‑demand area,” said Milana Elderova.

   She highlighted: “On Earth, almost no restrictions exist for AI — data centres allow us to deploy models of any power. In orbit, however, installing complex algorithms is difficult because high‑performance processors consume too much energy.”

In her presentation, Elderova identified two main industry trends:

   Highly‑specialised satellites. Venture investors are backing companies that tackle one specific problem better than anyone else in the world (e.g., fire detection or ship tracking). “Whoever does it best — gets the market,” summarized Elderova.

   Hybrid systems. Earth observation satellites are no longer just “cameras in orbit” but become part of an integrated service serving multiple customers in real time.

   SPUTNIX already has two on‑board AI solutions in operation. In 2025, the company announced the third generation of its CubeSat platform with on‑board computing capabilities. Additionally, for one of its clients, SPUTNIX launched a satellite equipped with an infrared camera. The spacecraft autonomously captures images, calculates thermal anomalies, and transmits the coordinates of thermal hotspots to the ground. The customer’s reaction time has been reduced from hours to minutes.

   “We are moving toward autonomous space systems with a fully integrated end‑to‑end cycle — from satellite to end‑user,” concluded Milana Elderova.