Hypergiant and SUSE RGS, taking Kubernetes to the final frontier

“We’re on course to put a Kubernetes cluster in space in 2021.” Bren Briggs, Director of DevOps and Cybersecurity, Hypergiant Industries.

Hypergiant Industries focuses on solving humanity’s most challenging problems by delivering best in class artificial intelligence solutions and products in a host of sectors, including space science and exploration.

Hypergiant’s SUSE RGS (Rancher Government Solutions)-supported SatelliteONE mission is on track to achieve the impossible in the most hostile environment of all – putting K3s to work in orbit, for the very first time.

A world first: putting a Kubernetes cluster in space

Hypergiant used K3s to solve multiple issues faced by the satellite industry. Firstly, space-rated hardware is costly. Software development and delivery processes are slow. On-orbit satellite software updates are often not possible or incredibly time-consuming and expensive. As a result, AI/ML capabilities are far behind those currently available on earth.

Satellite connectivity and bandwidth are poor, which makes downloading large images and other data difficult. The SatelliteONE mission has been designed to solve these problems, helping governments worldwide, who are looking for ways to build longevity of service and sustainability into satellite fleets.

K3s reduce the dependencies and steps needed to install, run and auto-update a production Kubernetes cluster and enable Hypergiant to deploy the modern, lightweight software systems that will drive the next evolution and commoditization of the satellite industry.

Deploying K3s to achieve the impossible

SatelliteONE’s initial mission is an important one – to take a picture of Baby Yoda. While this doesn’t sound particularly groundbreaking, this exercise’s primary purpose is to demonstrate the ability to capture images and perform AI and ML workloads at the edge.

By deploying novel compute technologies, like K3s, on orbiting devices, their longevity and ongoing usability are assured. Working with K3s, Hypergiant, SUSE RGS, and DOD PlatformONE are creating a commercial future for data processing in space.

The benefits Hypergiant has realized in working with SUSE RGS (formerly Rancher Federal) are unprecedented, including achieving an 80 percent reduction in deployment time compared to manual methodology – from weeks to days. K3s clusters are created in minutes, with the possibility of simple remote update and patching.

Click here to find out more about how Hypergiant is working with K3s to achieve a world first, deploying a Kubernetes cluster in space!

For information on the launch of SUSE RGS, please visit.