SpaceX views orbital computing as a solution to Earth’s constraints, but China hopes to process data at the source to optimise efficiency

China has unveiled its latest ambitious space-based computing network designed to process satellite data in orbit using AI before sending the results to Earth.

Xingshu, or “Star Hub”, will eventually comprise around 1,000 satellites, according to Chi Nan, an optical communications professor at Fudan University.

The network is being jointly developed by Fudan and Shanghai Xingshu Tiansuan Space Technology Co.

It would offer on-demand, time-based computing services in orbit, allowing governments, researchers and companies in sectors such as energy, shipping and finance to rent computing power by the hour, Chi said at the World Artificial Intelligence (AI) Conference in Shanghai on Saturday.

Xingshu will also combine satellite observations with AI to provide weather forecasts, disaster warnings, port and shipping monitoring, power grid inspections and remote-sensing services for emergency responders, meteorological agencies and natural resource authorities.

The project is the latest in a series of Chinese space-computing initiatives, following the 300-satellite Tiansuan constellation led by the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, and state-backed Zhejiang Lab’s 1,000-satellite Three-Body Computing Constellation.

Tiansuan has launched eight satellites so far, while Three-Body deployed its first dozen satellites last year.