Satellites in the direct-to-user Earth observation (EO) satellite system support inter-satellite communication and form a multihop communication network. Each satellite has a radio transceiver with a phased array antenna for directly communicating with a user radio station that issues an EO request of a user. Physical servers are distributed over the satellites and networked to form an in-space computer network that is Internet-enabled. The multihop communication network enables the servers to be mutually communicable. Raw data generated from the EO sensors are processed by the servers to yield desired EO data that meets the user's requirement. Advantageously, the servers set up a user authentication server configured to verify the user identity for determining acceptance or denial of the EO request, and an application server for interacting with the user. Hence, the EO request is entirely handled in Space without involving a terrestrial non-user facility for user authentication and raw-data processing.