AAC Clyde Space secures ESA funding to develop Sirius EDGE on board computer

by Sophie Jenkins
London, UK (SPX) Dec 08, 2025

AAC Clyde Space has received SEK 4.7 million from the ESA Phi-Lab Sweden programme to develop the foundation for its next-generation Sirius EDGE on-board computer platform for small satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles. The work will be carried out at AAC Clyde Space in Uppsala together with subsidiary Spacemetric in Sollentuna and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. The project builds on the company's flight-proven Sirius computer family and will result in a laboratory demonstrator for Sirius EDGE by the fourth quarter of 2026.

The SPEED project links AAC Clyde Space's hardware development in Uppsala with Spacemetric's software capabilities and KTH research on specialised low-power chip technology. This collaboration is intended to create an AI-ready computing platform that the company can design and qualify within its own group. By combining these strengths, AAC Clyde Space aims to advance on-board processing performance while keeping power consumption low.

Demand is increasing for satellites that can process data directly in orbit rather than sending all information to the ground. Users seek rapid access to insights while limiting downlink capacity and energy use. This is important for Earth observation, maritime applications and security-related services that depend on timely and reliable space-based information.

For satellite service providers, including AAC Clyde Space, improved on-board processing reduces the need to transmit large volumes of raw data. Satellites can filter and analyse measurements in space and send down only the information needed for decision-making. This approach supports more efficient and scalable data services, especially for constellations delivering continuous coverage.

Sirius EDGE is designed to provide this processing capability at low power, making advanced on-board analysis accessible to small satellites, including CubeSats. The platform targets missions where size, weight and power budgets are tight but data handling needs are growing. By bringing AI-ready computing to smaller spacecraft, the system is expected to enable new types of services and payload operations.

"With Sirius EDGE, we are preparing technology that will help satellites make decisions faster and operate more efficiently," says Luis Gomes, CEO of AAC Clyde Space. "By bringing our hardware and software teams together, we can move quickly and create solutions that respond directly to what customers are asking for."

The platform is intended for both civilian and security-related missions and is applicable across satellites and UAVs. Sirius EDGE will be added to AAC Clyde Space's portfolio of space products and will support the company's strategy to expand space-based data services with higher-value offerings.

Within SPEED, Sirius EDGE is positioned as the next step in AAC Clyde Space's Sirius on-board computer line. The project focuses on compact, energy-efficient processing so that satellites and UAVs can analyse data in flight. Funding comes through the ESA Phi-Lab Sweden programme, with contributions from ESA and Vinnova and national support from RISE.

Key technical elements include application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) technology optimised for particular tasks, providing lower energy use than general-purpose GPU or FPGA processors. The system will implement edge processing, analysing and filtering data on the satellite instead of transmitting all raw data to Earth. The design targets a compact form factor suited to small satellites and incorporates integration with Bluestone, Spacemetric's established software for handling image data directly on board.