AstroForge to fly transformer-based AI model onboard autonomous spacecraft in 2027

AstroForge, a space startup founded in 2022 and backed by $56 million in venture funding, is developing an autonomous control stack for its spacecraft called Solo. Solo is a transformer-based AI model designed to manage spacecraft operations without relying solely on ground control teams.

The company plans to fly its first autonomous spacecraft, Autonomy-1, in 2027 aboard a rocket launched by Stoke Space. This mission is expected to gather scientific data about the sun and will be backed by NASA. The decision to use AI for autonomy stems from challenges encountered during previous missions, including communication difficulties with its Odin spacecraft in 2025, which ultimately could not be recovered due to limited ground antenna access.

Solo integrates traditional control algorithms with models trained on specific spacecraft subsystems, such as power generation and navigation, as well as an overall intelligence layer trained on approximately 2,500 sensors onboard the spacecraft. The goal is to enable the AI to perform tasks like anomaly resolution autonomously, such as identifying and addressing issues like a malfunctioning star tracker by power cycling the device.

AstroForge's third vehicle, DeepSpace-2, is scheduled to launch alongside Intuitive Machines' third moon mission by the end of 2026. During this mission, Solo will operate in 'shadow mode,' allowing engineers to evaluate its performance before the Autonomy-1 mission. The company has not ruled out including radios for ground communication on Autonomy-1, but the current plan is to operate without them to fully test the AI's capabilities.

The shift to AI-driven autonomy reflects a broader industry trend where startups seek to reduce reliance on expensive ground networks, which can cost hundreds of millions of dollars to deploy and maintain. AstroForge's approach contrasts with traditional spacecraft autonomy, which has historically depended on redundancy and ground-based flight controllers, such as the 100 operators per shift used during NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission.