Artistic illustration of the University of Stuttgart's "Flying Laptop" satellite.

The computer is part of a small, 130kg satellite dubbed the "Flying Laptop," which is being developed by more than 50 students and professors at the university's Institute of Space Systems. Starting in the autumn of 2014, the satellite is to record shipping movements and measure vegetation with its three camera systems and will also test new technologies under space conditions. The university noted that the instrument's maneuverability would enable it to photograph vegetation from various angles, thereby enabling research concerning the condition of plant life on the Earth.

While proven computers and older models are generally used in commercial aerospace projects, the Stuttgart satellite computer is state of the art, the university said, suitable for small technology satellites, for example, from the European Space Agency.

The project was launched in 2004 and has received more than 1 million euros in funding. A government agency has granted 800,000 euros ($A1.18 million) to pay a rocket company to move the Flying Laptop into orbit.