In a nutshell: A few ventures are trying to bring the competition for edge computing in space, where solar energy is aplenty and ready to be harvested. A Chinese consortium is allegedly going from theory to practice, with an ambitious new constellation designed to bring AI capabilities in Earth’s orbit.
While Eric Schmidt and other Western space entrepreneurs are still exploring the idea of orbital data centers, Chinese companies have already begun moving forward. Last week, China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation confirmed the successful launch of the first mission in its “Satellite Computing” program, which aims to deploy thousands of satellites equipped with onboard computing capabilities.
Members of the Satellite Computing project include ADA Space, a company founded in 2018, and Zhejiang Lab – a collaboration between government authorities and Alibaba Group. Other participants, such as SoftStone and Kepu Cloud, are developing ground-based data centers designed to work with the orbital constellation.
Chinese space authorities said the first 12 satellites launched aboard a Long March-2D rocket. ADA Space described the deployment as the world’s first orbital computing constellation. The entire network will reportedly include 2,800 satellites, each with a powerful onboard AI model.
The 12 satellites are capable of five peta-operations per second (POPS). The long-term goal is to build space infrastructure capable of reaching 1,000 POPS. Additionally, the satellites feature a 100 Gbps laser-based communication link for inter-satellite communication. Developed by Guangxi University, an onboard X-ray detector enables them to study extreme space phenomena like gamma-ray bursts.
ADA Space argues that the growing demand for real-time space-based computing justifies deploying more hardware into Earth’s increasingly crowded orbit. China is pushing to lead this new orbital race, even as the United States slashes NASA’s budget and shutters offices under anti-DEI executive orders.
Engineers are already developing a second satellite computing constellation. Chinese Communist Party general secretary Xi Jinping has reportedly said that artificial intelligence should serve humanity and urged international cooperation to create better AI models. The European Space Agency also stresses the need for cooperation, though Europe appears unprepared to compete in the emerging space computing arena. Some experts, like astronomer Jonathan McDowell, argue that orbiting data centers could reduce energy consumption and ease environmental strain on Earth’s fragile atmosphere.
