Space technology · Uframwork

Ivy

The operating system of the space economy.

Ivy distributes computation between satellites, ground stations and data centers — and decides, for every job, where it should run.

58: real Earth-observation satellites, propagated live
10: ground station sites
3: cloud regions
5: optimization axes

01The problem

Satellites see more than they can send.

Earth-observation satellites produce far more data than their downlinks can carry. Processing in orbit sends back answers instead of raw pixels — but compute in space is expensive, power-limited and only intermittently connected. The right answer changes every second, with every orbit, eclipse and ground pass.

02Five axes

Every decision, optimized on five axes.

01
Placement
On the satellite that captured the data, on a compute satellite reached over links, or on the ground after downlink.
02
Inter-satellite links
Optical ISL hops within 5,500 km, and relays toward a satellite in view of a ground station.
03
Energy
Battery state, eclipse, solar surplus and a minimum reserve that is never spent.
04
Latency
Deadlines, upcoming ground passes and the real throughput of each link.
05
Cost
Amortized orbital compute, downlink price per GB and terrestrial compute.

03Placement engine

Where should this computation run?

Pick a workload, move the next ground pass, change what matters. Ivy scores the three options and chooses.

Ivy · placementInteractive demo

Workload6 GB raw · 900 TFLOP · deadline 5.0 minNext ground pass in · 12 minWeight · latency 45Weight · energy 25Weight · cost 30

Orbit-localMisses deadline
Computed on the satellite that captured the data
Latency
12.7 min
Energy
3.8 Wh
Cost
$0.54
ISL offloadIvy's choice
Sent over inter-satellite links to an Ivy compute satellite
Latency
3.8 min
Energy
3.9 Wh
Cost
$0.54
GroundMisses deadline
Raw data downlinked, processed in a data center
Latency
12.4 min
Energy
1.0 Wh
Cost
$7.20

Simplified model running in your browser with Ivy's default parameters. The real engine computes the same three options from live SGP4 orbits, actual ground passes, X-band link budgets, eclipses and battery states.

04Measured versus assumed

Real orbits. Explicit assumptions.

Ivy separates what is measured from what is assumed — in its interface, in its answers and here.

Measured — live

Domain	Source	Refresh
Orbits of 58 Earth-observation satellites	CelesTrak GP element sets + SGP4 propagation	Every 2 h
Geomagnetic activity (Kp)	NOAA SWPC	Every 10 min
≥10 MeV proton flux (GOES)	NOAA SWPC	Every 10 min
Sun position, eclipses, Earth rotation	Computed from UTC time	Continuous
Ground stations	Public sites — KSAT, SSC, NASA NEN, ESA, SANSA	—
X-band link budget	Free-space path loss, atmosphere by elevation, modem-capped ACM	Each pass

Assumed — explicit

On-board compute of real satellites: Modelled as an “Ivy Edge” payload (24 TFLOPS, optical ISL). Operators do not publish these figures.
Ivy Compute Layer: 18 compute satellites of 120 TFLOPS in two sun-synchronous planes at 560 km. To be built — it does not exist yet.
Costs: Launch, downlink and cloud prices from public estimates, adjustable in the interface.
Workloads: Generated according to the real instrument of the source satellite.

Ground segment: Svalbard · Kiruna · Inuvik · Fairbanks · Wallops · South Point · Punta Arenas · Hartebeesthoek · Singapore · Troll. Satellites include Sentinel, Landsat, Pléiades, WorldView, SkySat, COSMO-SkyMed, TerraSAR-X and RADARSAT.

05Economics

Honest about the cost of a FLOP in orbit.

A FLOP in orbit costs hundreds of times more than on the ground. Ivy’s economics model makes launch, radiation, cooling, lifetime and utilization explicit inputs — and asks whether the downlink it avoids pays for it.

Compute premium in orbit: ≈327×
Per raw GB, processed in orbit: $0.60
Per raw GB, downlinked raw: $1.20
Break-even launch price: ≈$13.3k

Model output under Ivy’s default assumptions — $1,500/kg launch, 1.6 kW of compute, 12% radiation overhead, 5-year life, 55% utilization, 97% data reduction, $1.20/GB downlink, $2.50 per GPU-hour on the ground. A thesis to be tested, not an established fact.

IvyThe operating system of the space economy

06The agent

An operator you can talk to.

Ivy is also a conversational agent whose tools act on the same live network the operator sees. It checks state before stating, compares before recommending, and justifies every choice with its numbers.

get_network_statusLive state of every satellite, link and ground contact.
compare_placementsScores every placement option for a job before deciding.
submit_jobSubmits a workload; the operator sees it scheduled on the orbital view.
replan_jobRe-plans a job, optionally forcing a strategy or compute node.
set_policyAdjusts the latency, energy and cost weights, battery reserve and hop limit.
evaluate_economicsRuns the orbital compute economics with explicit assumptions.

07Architecture

Seven modules, one runtime.

lib/ivy/orbit.tsSGP4, sun-synchronous precession, Sun position, GMST, eclipses, South Atlantic Anomaly
lib/ivy/network.tsLive satellite catalogue, ground segment, space weather → radiation derating
lib/ivy/linkbudget.tsX-band downlink budget per pass
lib/ivy/scheduler.tsPlacement engine — local, ISL offload, ground and relay — with scoring
lib/ivy/economics.tsOrbital compute unit economics
lib/ivy/sim.tsRuntime on real UTC time, with speed-up and live re-sync
lib/ivy/agent.tsIvy’s identity, instructions and tools over the live runtime

Next.js · TypeScript · satellite.js (SGP4) · Three.js — the same orb engine as this website, with Ivy in graphite · streaming tool-calling agent.

Space systems

Building for orbit, the ground segment or the data behind them?

Start a projectAll work

Domain

Source

Refresh

Orbits of 58 Earth-observation satellites

CelesTrak GP element sets + SGP4 propagation

Every 2 h

Geomagnetic activity (Kp)

NOAA SWPC

Every 10 min

≥10 MeV proton flux (GOES)

NOAA SWPC

Every 10 min

Sun position, eclipses, Earth rotation

Computed from UTC time

Continuous

Ground stations

Public sites — KSAT, SSC, NASA NEN, ESA, SANSA

—

X-band link budget

Free-space path loss, atmosphere by elevation, modem-capped ACM

Each pass

Satellites see more than they can send.Satellites see more than they can send.

Every decision, optimized on five axes.Every decision, optimized on five axes.

Placement

Inter-satellite links

Energy

Latency

Cost

Where should this computation run?Where should this computation run?

Real orbits. Explicit assumptions.Real orbits. Explicit assumptions.

Measured — live

Assumed — explicit

Honest about the cost of a FLOP in orbit.Honest about the cost of a FLOP in orbit.

An operator you can talk to.An operator you can talk to.

Seven modules, one runtime.Seven modules, one runtime.

Continue exploring

Satellites see more than they can send.Satellites see more than they can send.

Every decision, optimized on five axes.Every decision, optimized on five axes.

Placement

Inter-satellite links

Energy

Latency

Cost

Where should this computation run?Where should this computation run?

Real orbits. Explicit assumptions.Real orbits. Explicit assumptions.

Measured — live

Assumed — explicit

Honest about the cost of a FLOP in orbit.Honest about the cost of a FLOP in orbit.

An operator you can talk to.An operator you can talk to.

Seven modules, one runtime.Seven modules, one runtime.

Continue exploring

Satellites see more than they can send.

Every decision, optimized on five axes.

Where should this computation run?

Real orbits. Explicit assumptions.

Honest about the cost of a FLOP in orbit.

An operator you can talk to.

Seven modules, one runtime.

Satellites see more than they can send.

Every decision, optimized on five axes.

Where should this computation run?

Real orbits. Explicit assumptions.

Honest about the cost of a FLOP in orbit.

An operator you can talk to.

Seven modules, one runtime.