On September 20 at 12:03 PM, the Lijian-1 carrier rocket's 18th flight successfully deployed nine satellites, including the Super Intelligent Computing Satellite No. 1, into their designated orbits using a single launch.
This mission highlights a notable shift in on-orbit satellite capabilities: computing power is increasingly becoming a core payload component, transforming satellites from simple data collection terminals into advanced computing nodes.
The Super Intelligent Computing Satellite No. 1 is equipped with optical remote sensing and AI computing payloads. According to project developers, the satellite can process imagery and identify targets directly in orbit, transmitting only filtered, high-value data back to Earth. In certain scenarios, this reduces data response times from several hours down to just minutes.
Also launched into orbit on the same rocket, the Pengcheng Pioneer Satellite integrates a 5G non-terrestrial network base station, core network, onboard AI computing, and laser and microwave communication payloads into a single satellite, enabling coordinated validation of communication, sensing, and computing functions.
A day earlier, the PIESAT-2 13-16 satellites from Zhuzhou Spacety entered their planned orbits. These SAR satellites carry onboard intelligent processing and mission planning payloads, allowing direct on-orbit interpretation of remote sensing data before transmitting application results to ground stations.
Within just two days, multiple satellites equipped with on-orbit processing capabilities have been launched in rapid succession. The validation of space computing power is transitioning from scientific research demonstrations to commercial and engineering deployment, creating new mission sources for commercial satellites and rocket launches.
Satellite data processing stands out as the clearest current application for space computing capabilities. When a satellite passes over a single ground station, the effective communication window typically lasts only about 10 minutes, yet high-resolution remote sensing satellites can generate raw imagery of up to several hundred gigabytes per pass.
Limited communication windows combined with ever-growing data volumes make satellite-to-ground transmission a bottleneck for remote sensing efficiency. The Zhejiang Lab has previously disclosed that due to constraints in ground station resources and bandwidth, nearly 90% of satellite data never reaches the ground, with average remote sensing data return times exceeding one hour.
On-orbit computing can identify fire points, ships, flood extents, or surface changes in real time, then transmit coordinates, ranges, and analysis results back to Earth. This processing approach compresses data volumes and shortens the time between satellite observation and ground-based decision-making.
Emergency disaster response, maritime patrol, natural resource management, and ecological monitoring demand high data timeliness, making these areas most likely to benefit from minute-level response capabilities. These use cases will become the first markets where space computing power achieves commercial deployment.
Domestic exploration has already expanded from single satellites to dedicated computing constellations. The Triple Computing Constellation's first batch of 12 satellites, launched in 2025, delivers maximum computing power of up to 744 TOPS per satellite, achieving a total on-orbit computing capacity of 5 POPS. Following deployment, the initial satellites established inter-satellite laser links and deployed 11 AI models running in orbit.
Inter-satellite networking expands the application boundaries of space computing. Multiple satellites can share computing and storage resources, allocate tasks in orbit, and call upon algorithms tailored to different regions and scenarios. Model deployment, task scheduling, and data collaboration have thus become new capabilities for computing satellites.
This transformation is reshaping the demand structure of the commercial space industry. Computing satellites require higher-performance processors, more stable power supplies, faster inter-satellite communications, and continuously updated software systems. These requirements will transmit demand along the industrial chain, impacting satellite platforms, onboard chips, laser communications, operating systems, and data services.
Engineering capabilities determine how quickly space computing power can expand. In vacuum environments, radiation-based heat dissipation is the primary cooling method, meaning high-density computing increases thermal control pressure on satellites. Radiation-hardened chips, power systems, and high-speed inter-satellite communications directly affect the performance and lifespan of computing payloads.
Launch capabilities determine the deployment costs and networking efficiency of computing nodes. Reusable rockets, batch satellite manufacturing, and standardized rideshare launches will become critical foundations for scaling up space computing capacity.
Space computing is adding a new layer of value to the commercial space industry. Rockets deliver computing nodes into orbit, satellites handle data collection and processing, inter-satellite networks connect distributed computing resources, and ground applications consume the final outputs.
This end-to-end chain extends commercial space competition from satellite counts to data processing efficiency. As more computing satellites enter orbit, those participants able to rapidly form networking capabilities, match high-timeliness scenarios, and consistently deliver data services will seize industrial leadership in space computing power.
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