China to build world’s first giant supercomputer network in space

In a remarkable breakthrough, China has taken the first step toward building the world’s first supercomputer network in space by launching 12 satellites as part of a larger plan involving 2,800 satellites.

These satellites were developed by ADA Space, Zhijiang Laboratory, and the Neijang High-Tech Zone.

Unlike traditional satellites, these new units are equipped to process the data they collect onboard, eliminating the need to send it to ground stations for analysis.

The project is part of ADA Space’s “Star Compute” initiative and marks the beginning of the “Three-Body Computing Constellation.”

It should be noted that each satellite is powered by an artificial intelligence (AI) model with eight billion parametres and is capable of performing 744 tera operations per second (TOPS).

Combined, the 12 satellites offer a processing capacity of five peta operations per second (POPS). Ultimately, the full constellation aims to reach 1,000 POPS.

The satellites are interconnected through laser communication links that support speeds of up to 100 Gbps, and they collectively have 30 terabytes of onboard storage.

In addition to computing tasks, the satellites carry scientific instruments, such as an X-ray polarisation detector designed to observe cosmic phenomena like gamma-ray bursts.

According to ADA Space, the network will also be capable of generating 3D digital twin data, which could be applied in various fields, including emergency response, tourism, and gaming.