K2 is launching its first high-powered astronomical satellite

The ambitious satellite maker will launch one of the most powerful spacecraft ever built in the coming weeks to demonstrate the technology it will need to build a data center in orbit.

K2 Spacefounded by brothers and former SpaceX engineers Karan and Neel Kunjur in 2022, will carry its Gravitas satellite in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket that is expected to launch later this month. Gravitas has a weight of two metric tons, and a wingspan of 40 meters when its solar wings are exposed.

The principle of a large satellite is high power: Gravitas can generate 20 kW of electricity for use with payloads such as power sensors, transceivers, and computers. By comparison, the larger and more expensive ViaSat-3 spacecraft can generate more than 25 kW, with Elon Musk’s power. he said The Starlink V3 satellites will generate 20 kW. But most space planes generate only a few kilowatts.

“The future is super power,” CEO Karan Kunjur explains. K2 has raised $450 million to make this vision a reality, and was valued at $3 billion by investors in December 2025. This launch will be the company’s first step toward real space missions — and what Kunjur calls “the beginning of our next iteration.”

The Gravitas mission will launch 12 undisclosed modules paid for by several customers, including the Department of Defense, as well as a 20 kW electric thruster that the company hopes will be the most powerful ever launched in space.

Kunjur said the demonstration will be evaluated on several criteria for success – first, can K2 deploy the spacecraft and generate power? Second, can it launch its payload, and test its powerful thruster? And if that worked, could it use the propellant to lift the ship thousands of miles into the air?

Kunjur knows that launching a new airline is not easy – 85% of its components are designed and built in-house – and that the markets are quick to make misjudgments. The key, he says, is to scale up data collection to feed into the next satellite model; K2 plans to launch 11 satellites over the next two years in a combination of demonstration and commercial operations. By 2028, Kunjur hopes the company will be producing satellites so customers can build more powerful space vehicles.

As satellites continue to play a major role in the economy, energy helps close new businesses. Kunjur expects the first impact to be on communication networks – more power means more output and a less sensitive signal. As data processing in orbit becomes more important, more powerful satellites will be needed to use advanced processors.

However, the biggest problem with data centers – and large satellites of all kinds – is the cost of launching them into space. The launch of the K2 was an increase in the capacity of Starship, a large rocket currently being developed by SpaceX that can lower the payload to orbit. However, it is not yet known when the car will start operating, or when it will start offering cheap services.

But the increased power on the track gives the K2 a unique design for its unique fleet. Large communications networks such as Starlink and Amazon LEO, hyperscalers are estimating the potential of orbital computing, and the Pentagon’s plans for $185 billion in missile defense and thousands of new ones point to satellites with more power.

K2 argues that its spacecraft still makes sense in a country where it would cost $7.2 million to launch (at customer prices for the Falcon 9) instead of $600,000 (a country where Starship cuts launch prices for foreign customers). Kunjur says Gravitas’ $15 million price tag still makes it less expensive than traditional contractor-built high-powered satellites while being more powerful than similarly priced small aircraft.

And when the big rocks start flying more frequently, Kunjur says his team will be ready with bigger options.

“The idea is, let’s make all the equipment we’re going to have to run Starship and New Glenn after it’s available to everyone else,” he told TechCrunch. K2 has a 100 kW satellite design all installed under its factory floor, spanning the entire building.

This article has been updated to the latest version of Starlink satellite power.