Tuesday, October 14, 2025
Home Innovation Red Hat Red Hat Partners with Axiom Sp...
Red Hat
Business Honor
07 March, 2025
Partnership will help streamline data processing and space cybersecurity through state-of-the-art technology.
Red Hat, Inc. and Axiom Space have collaborated to launch and optimize Axiom Space's Data Centre Unit-1 (AxDCU-1) on the International Space Station (ISS) this spring 2025. Red Hat Device Edge, an enterprise-grade technology enabling edge computing as well as cloud-native workloads, will be part of the collaboration and aimed at enabling the processing of data in space directly.
AxDCU-1 will be a data processing prototype that verifies the feasibilit
y of orbital data centres (ODCs) in terms of cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), data fusion, and space cybersecurity. This is done to shorten the conventional time taken for orbital data processing, skipping earth-bound data centres by positioning data processing nearer to the origin—spacecraft or satellites.
Integration of Red Hat Device Edge, the light Kubernetes distro MicroShift, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform will make Axiom Space capable of operating hybrid cloud applications in space. The vision is to allow for real-time decision-making more efficiently, with increased reliability and security. This project will advance space-based activities such as AI/ML training, space weather analytics, detection of cyber intrusion, and off-planet disaster recovery.
By providing safer and quicker decision-making functionality, AxDCU-1 represents a major milestone toward the transformation of space infrastructure. Axiom Space's orbital data centers are designed to enable industries such as Earth observation satellites, autonomous systems, and cybersecurity in space—all of which can have far-reaching implications for both space and Earth operations.
Tony James, Red Hat's Chief Architect of Science and Space, highlighted the significance of edge computing for off-planet data processing. He pointed out that this partnership will enable Earth-based mission partners to make decisions in real-time with increased consistency and reliability.
This launch also continues Axiom Space's vision to bring space within reach for industries not previously considered to operate in space, expanding the frontiers of space infrastructure and its applications to life on Earth.