China is creating the world’s first orbital supercomputer network and has taken the first step towards it by launching 12 AI-operated satellites in low Earth orbit. The launch is part of the three-body computing constellation, which the country is planning to develop. This computing constellation will serve as a space-based data processing network capable of directly calculating large amounts of information in the classroom, without relying on any Earth-based infrastructure.

According to a report by Space News, satellites were launched on 14 May from the Jyukvan Satellite Launch Center in Northwest China through a long March 2D rocket. The Space Supercomputer has been developed by the Chinese Start-up ADA Space in collaboration with Zejiang Lab and Nejiang High-Tech Zone. The first 12 satellites represent the initial phase of a large “Star-Campute Program”, which aims to eventually deploy 2,800 seminal satellites in space.

Space supercomputer for AI processing

Allegedly, this constellation of the supercomputer not only collects data, but also processes it. Each satellite is equipped with an 8 billion-parameter AI model that is capable of operating 744 tera per second (tops). Together, 12 satellite fleet offers a joint computing capacity of 5 PETA operations, with China plan to score it for 1,000 pops as the network expands. In comparison, a high-end AI PC, like the Microsoft Copilot system, manages only about 40 tops, which means that this orbital supercomputer is far more powerful than most of the Earth-based systems.

According to reports, one of the biggest benefits of this system is that it has the ability to process the data directly in space rather than sending it back to Earth. The satellites use ultra-fast laser communication to transmit data at speeds up to 100 GBPS-enough to send huge datasets to the second. They also share 30 terabytes of storage, allowing them to handle complex tasks such as satellite imagery, climate data or even making 3D digital twin models of cities and scenarios. By processing the data in the orbit, the space supercomputer can avoid the hurdle of expensive Earth-based data transfer that is also slow due to limited ground station capacity.

Another major benefit is energy efficiency. Unlike traditional data centers, which consume large amounts of electricity and require complex cooling systems, these satellites move on solar energy and spread the heat naturally into space. This space makes supercomputer constellation more environmentally friendly, which reduces both energy costs and carbon emissions.

“Orbital data centers can use solar energy and radiate their heat into space, reducing energy needs and carbon footprints,” a space historian and astronomer McDowell at Harvard University told the South China Morning Post, “Orbital data centers can use their heat, reduce energy needs and carbon footprints.”

According to experts, the supercomputers in space are future and can revolutionize areas such as disaster response, urban planning and even gaming by providing real-time, high-resolution simulation without stress to the infrastructure of the Earth.