China launches space computing satellite constellation

China launched a Long March-2D carrier rocket on Wednesday, placing a new constellation of space computing satellites into orbit. The launch marks a significant advancement in the country's space-based computing capabilities.

The rocket blasted off at 12:12 pm (Beijing Time) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

The newly launched 12 computing satellites are the first batch of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation," according to Zhejiang Lab, a research institute based in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.

Wang Jian, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of Zhejiang Lab, said the "Three-Body Computing Constellation," jointly developed by Zhejiang Lab and global partners, is large-scale space computing infrastructure designed to host thousands of satellites with a total computing power of 1,000 peta operations per second (POPS) upon completion.

By enabling real-time in-orbit data processing, the facility aims to overcome the efficiency bottlenecks of traditional satellite data handling and advance the application and development of artificial intelligence in space, Wang said.

The construction of the constellation will greatly expand the boundaries of space applications, and will have far-reaching significance for the air and space industry, Wang added.

The initial satellites provide a combined computing power of 5 POPS and 30 terabytes of storage capacity. They are equipped with on-board intelligent computing and inter-satellite communication systems, and have the capability of in-orbit computing in space.

The launch also carried an X-ray polarization detector developed by Guangxi University and the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which will be used to study gamma-ray bursts.

Zhejiang Lab said it plans to collaborate with partners to deploy a constellation of more than 50 computing satellites this year.