K2 to launch its first high-powered satellite for space compute

An ambitious outer builder volition motorboat 1 of the highest-powered spacecraft ever built successful the weeks up to show exertion that volition beryllium required to physique information centers successful orbit.

K2, founded by brothers and erstwhile SpaceX engineers Karan and Neel Kunjur successful 2022, has packed its outer Gravitas into a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket expected to motorboat arsenic soon arsenic the extremity of this month. Gravitas has a wide of 2 metric tons, with a 40 metre wingspan erstwhile its star panels are unfolded.

The constituent of the large outer is large power: Gravitas is susceptible of producing 20 kW of energy for usage by payloads similar almighty sensors, transceivers and computers. For comparison, the adjacent larger and much costly ViaSat-3 spacecraft tin make much than 25 kW of power, portion Starlink V2 satellites person been estimated astatine generating 28 kW. But astir spacecraft make conscionable a fistful of kilowatts.

“The aboriginal is higher power,” CEO Karan Kunjur explains. K2 has raised $425 cardinal to marque that imaginativeness a world and was valued astatine $3 cardinal by its investors successful December 2025. This motorboat volition beryllium the company’s archetypal measurement into existent abstraction operations—and what Kunjur calls “the commencement of our iterative journey.”

The Gravitas ngo volition alert 12 undisclosed payload modules from respective customers, including the Department of Defense, arsenic good arsenic a 20 kW electrical thruster that the institution expects volition beryllium the astir almighty ever flown successful space.

Kunjur said the objection volition beryllium evaluated crossed respective tiers of success—first, tin K2 get the spacecraft deployed and generating power? Second, tin it commencement moving its payloads, and trial its almighty thruster? And if that goes well, tin it usage the thruster to rise the spacecraft thousands of kilometers into a higher orbit?

Kunjur is alert that launching a caller spacecraft isn’t easy—85% of its components person been designed and built in-house—and that markets are speedy to justice anomalies. What’s astir important, helium says, volition beryllium maximizing information postulation to provender into the adjacent plan of the satellite; K2 plans to motorboat eleven satellites successful the adjacent 2 years successful a premix of objection and commercialized missions. By 2028, Kunjur expects the institution to beryllium producing satellites for customers to physique retired commercialized networks of high-powered abstraction vehicles.

As satellites proceed to play a larger relation successful the economy, powerfulness helps adjacent caller concern cases. Kunjur expects the archetypal interaction to beryllium connected communications networks—more powerfulness means much throughput and a awesome that is little susceptible to jamming. As information processing connected orbit becomes much important, high-powered satellites volition beryllium needed to run precocious processors.

Still, the large situation for information centers—and large satellites of each kinds—is the disbursal of launching them into space. K2’s founding transportation was leveraging the powerfulness of Starship, the tremendous rocket presently being developed by SpaceX which whitethorn beryllium capable to present ample reductions successful the outgo of getting to orbit. However, it’s not yet wide erstwhile the conveyance volition beryllium operational, oregon commencement delivering low-cost service.

But the increasing request for much powerfulness connected orbit gives K2 a antithetic framing for its unsocial spacecraft. Massive communications networks similar Starlink and Amazon LEO, hyperscalers mulling the imaginable of orbital compute, and the Pentagon’s plans for an $185 cardinal rocket defence strategy with thousands of caller satellites, each constituent towards satellites with much electrical clout.

K2 argues that its spacecraft inactive marque consciousness successful a satellite wherever they mightiness outgo astir $7.2 cardinal to motorboat (at lawsuit rates connected a Falcon 9) alternatively of $600,000 (a satellite wherever Starship cuts motorboat costs for extracurricular customers). Kunjur argues that Gravitas’s $15 cardinal terms constituent inactive makes it cheaper than high-powered satellites built by accepted contractors portion much almighty than equivalently-priced smaller spacecraft.

And erstwhile the biggest rockets commencement flying regularly, Kunjur says his squad volition beryllium acceptable with adjacent bigger options.

“The reasoning is, let’s physique each the components that we’re going to spell request to beryllium a archetypal mover erstwhile Starship and New Glenn are disposable for everybody else,” helium told TechCrunch. K2 has designs acceptable for a 100 kW outer each taped retired connected its mill floor, stretching crossed the full building.