China started implementation of a large-scale project to create the world’s first orbital supercomputer system. Beijing has already launched 12 satellites equipped with high-tech computing modules and intersatellite communication systems into Earth orbit. These devices became part of a new group called the Three-Body Computing Constellation.
The launch took place from the Jiuquan Cosmodrome using the Changzheng-2D launch vehicle. According to the sources, in the future the project may include thousands of satellites capable of collectively providing productivity at the level of 1,000 peta-operations per second (POPS).
According to the Chinese Academy of Engineering Sciences, this satellite group will process data directly in space in real time, avoiding the need to transmit information to Earth. The project is managed by the research institute Zhejiang Lab from Hangzhou with the participation of international partners.
The head of the laboratory and member of the academy, Wang Jian, emphasized that the initiative is designed to eliminate the limitations of traditional satellite systems and give impetus to the development of artificial intelligence in space technologies. Among the priority tasks is increasing the computing power of each satellite from the level of teraflops to petaflops and ensuring full intersatellite integration, according to the principle of the Internet.
Scientists note that even one satellite in the group will be able to perform complex computing tasks, which opens new horizons for the industry. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) emphasizes that the launch of these devices could become a key stage in the development of next-generation space technologies.
The first group of satellites already provides a total capacity of 5 POPS and has a storage capacity of 30 terabytes. One of the satellites is equipped with an X-ray polarimeter, created by Guangxi University together with the National Astronomical Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, designed to study gamma-ray bursts.
