“One of the key trends shaping the future of space missions is the growing shift towards running advanced applications directly onboard satellites,” said Julia Marushchak, Chief Growth Officer at KP Labs. “Autonomous navigation is one of the capabilities that will become increasingly important as satellite missions grow in complexity. By exploring how NaviCode can run on Leopard DPU, we aim to better understand how navigation functions such as onboard orbit determination and positioning can be integrated directly onboard spacecraft, reducing reliance on ground support and enabling faster operational responses in orbit.”
Julia Marushchak, Chief Growth Officer at KP Labs
"The next generation of satellite missions will require an increasing shift of intelligence onboard, bringing navigation, data processing, and mission operations closer to where decisions need to be made. Running NaviCode on a flight-proven edge-processing platform like Leopard DPU is a natural step to demonstrate how advanced navigation functions can be deployed directly onboard, alongside other mission-critical applications. We are particularly interested in exploring how onboard precise orbit determination can complement payload data processing in Earth-observation missions, where accurate spacecraft positioning is a key input for downstream products"
- said Ivan di Stefano, Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder at NaviGate.
About KP Labs
Founded in 2016, KP Labs is a Polish space technology company advancing space exploration through the development of autonomous mission operations and onboard data processing systems. The company offers end-to-end solutions, including integrated hardware platforms, proprietary software, and advanced AI algorithms for Earth observation and planetary missions. KP Labs is involved in 10 space missions and has delivered over 50 R&D projects for the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, and commercial clients. With a team of around 100 engineers and researchers, the company holds the status of an official R&D Center granted by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education.
About NaviGate
Spun out of Sapienza University of Rome, NaviGate is an Italian space technology company founded by researchers with extensive experience in spacecraft navigation and precise orbit determination across ESA and NASA missions including Juno, Cassini, BepiColombo, and JUICE and initiatives such as ESA Moonlight and Marconi constellations. The company develops NaviCode, a modular, data-agnostic software platform that enables satellites and constellations to perform precise orbit determination, orbit prediction, and autonomous maneuvering without continuous ground intervention, leveraging GNSS, radiometric, optical, and other navigation measurements. NaviGate is incorporated in 2026 and is backed by Galaxia, Italy's national technology-transfer hub for aerospace, and supported by the ESA BIC Lazio incubation program.
Media Contacts
Julia Wiśniowska
Head of Marketing, KP Labs
jwisniowska@kplabs.pl
+48 530 523 011
Ivan di Stefano
CEO and Co-founder, NaviGate
ivan.distefano@navigate-space.com
+393487710583
