THE Astro-future Institute of Space Technology, a Beijing-based research institute, plans to construct China’s first space computing center in low-Earth orbit at an altitude of 700 to 800 kilometers within the next five years. Its first experimental satellite, “Chenguang-1,” is scheduled for launch around the end of this year or early next year.

According to the Beijing Daily, the Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission and the Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park announced the construction plan at a conference last week, highlighting the project’s strategic significance as part of the city’s broader efforts to advance commercial space and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.

“Chenguang-1,” whose computing capacity is roughly equivalent to that of a ground-based server, will serve as a standard module for the future in-orbit data center. “Objectively speaking, its computing capacity is not large, but we need to take this small step first,” said Zhang Shancong, director of Astro-future. He added that the proposed space data center is expected to evolve into a gigawatt-level computing hub capable of training and running super-large language models through in-orbit docking of modular components.

The institute plans to build a constellation of 16 centralized space data centers in a dawn-dusk orbit 700 to 800 kilometers above Earth.

Zhang outlined a three-stage development plan. From 2025 to 2027, the team will test key technologies for powering and cooling computers in orbit, and several trial computing satellites and data-relay satellites will be launched. Computing capacity is expected to grow as more satellites join the network.

The second stage, from 2028 to 2030, will focus on reducing the cost of space-based computing to make it comparable to operating data centers on the ground.

The final stage, from 2031 to 2035, aims to construct much larger orbital facilities powered by abundant solar energy, which could eventually support the training and operation of advanced AI systems directly in space.

The center will utilize continuous solar energy in orbit and take advantage of the ultra-cold space environment for cooling, enabling efficient AI computing services for users on the ground.

According to the plan, the constellation’s computing power is expected to reach 1,000 PFlops within three years and increase to 400,000 PFlops by 2030 — a level equivalent to the total computing capacity of all ground data centers in China today. It is projected to support applications such as 6G technology, autonomous driving, and weather forecasting.

Gong Weimi, deputy director of the Administrative Commission of Zhongguancun Science Park, stated that the space data center represents a key strategic intersection of commercial space and AI technologies and will be a priority in Beijing’s development as an international hub for technological innovation. He added that the Beijing government will increase its support for the project.(SD-Agencies)