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The Defense Industrial Base (DIB) and Federal System Integrator (FSI) communities operate under intense pressure. The mandate is clear: do more, faster, and with greater efficiency. As the engine of our national security and public sector services, these organizations must constantly innovate to maintain technological superiority. At Google Public Sector, we see firsthand how cloud technology accelerates this mission, providing the reliable, scalable infrastructure necessary to turn ambitious concepts into on-orbit realities.
A software-first approach to orbital complexities
A prime example of this innovation is Starfish Space, a startup pioneering a software-first approach to satellite servicing. Historically, satellite servicing—docking with and servicing satellites in orbit—has been the domain of massive government programs involving heavy, hardware-intensive vehicles. This approach made scaling difficult and expensive, limiting what humanity could accomplish in space.
Starfish Space is changing this paradigm with “Otter,” a small, versatile satellite servicing vehicle designed to extend satellite lifetimes and provide end-of-life disposal. However, building an autonomous vehicle capable of docking with a satellite traveling faster than a speeding bullet requires a new approach to satellite software development. It requires rigorous testing not just in a physical lab, but in a digital one.
Scaling simulations with managed Kubernetes
To achieve this, Starfish Space selected Google Cloud as its strategic provider for cloud infrastructure. To support the development of autonomous software capable of satellite docking, Starfish Space needed to run massive-scale Monte Carlo simulations to train the software in a virtual orbital environment.
Leveraging the scalability of Google Compute Engine and Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE), Starfish Space executes millions of complex simulations with speed and confidence. This illustrates the power of managed Kubernetes: the ability to spin up massive compute resources for demanding workloads, and scale them back down just as quickly to control costs. This infrastructure allows Starfish Space engineers to iterate rapidly, testing their software against countless edge cases that could occur in orbit without the capital expenditure of on-premise hardware.
Our goal is to make satellite servicing affordable and available, and that requires a fundamentally different, software-first approach. Google Cloud provides the scalable, high-performance computing infrastructure we need to run millions of simulations with speed and confidence.
Austin Link, Co-Founder, Starfish Space
Turning digital validation into orbital success
Starfish Space has secured Otter mission contracts with NASA, the U.S. Space Force, SES, and the Space Development Agency. Following the launch of their Otter Pup demonstration satellites, the company is preparing to launch the first full Otter satellites this year to begin providing commercial services.
Google Public Sector helps organizations accelerate their most critical missions. By leveraging commercial cloud infrastructure for high-performance computing and simulation, organizations like Starfish Space can reduce the cost of development, accelerate timelines, and deliver capabilities that support critical missions.
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