India becomes 4th country to launch AI satellite:Processes images in space, sends instant data for border surveillance, disaster response

India has sent into space its first satellite that will not only capture images and send them to Earth, but also analyse them in space. Hyderabad-based company TechMeToSpace launched its MOI-1A satellite at 11:48 p.m. on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission. Company CEO Raunak Kumar Samantaray said that AI would be able to remove unnecessary data and send only useful information to Earth. For example, if the satellite collects 300 GB of data and only a small part of it is needed, AI can isolate and send that portion. This will reduce the time and cost involved in transmitting images and data to Earth. According to the company, this is India’s first orbital computing satellite. After the US, the European Union and China, India has become the world’s fourth country with this capability. Satellite to sort data in space At present, data received from a satellite is first sent to Earth. It is then examined and analysed. The new satellite will be able to carry out this process in space itself. For instance, if a satellite collects 300 GB of data and only 5 GB of it is useful, AI can identify the necessary data and send only that information to Earth. This will reduce the time and cost of data transfer. Uses ranging from floods to farming This technology can be used for monitoring floods, forests, crops, mining areas, borders and land. For example, in the event of a flood, satellite images can determine the area covered by water and then send only the necessary information to the ground. Preparing a data centre in space in 2028 The company has also planned to build a large data centre in space in 2028. It is preparing to send higher-capacity satellites, each weighing 100 kg, for this purpose. The plan is to equip them with a large number of graphics processors and around 100 terabytes of storage. The goal is to develop the capability to analyse data in space itself by linking multiple satellites.