Spacebound AI Supercomputers: China Initiates Launch of Initial Components for Orbiting Network
Spacebound Supercomputer Revolution: China's Gesture to Launch AI-Powered Constellation
China is boldly stepping into the future with its first set of satellites for a proposed networked AI supercomputer in space. This futuristic network, known as the Three-Body Computing Constellation, is the brainchild of ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab and may eventually consist of a mind-blowing 2,800 satellites!
On May 14, 12 pioneering satellites blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, soaring into the cosmos aboard a Long March 2D rocket. This is just the start of a journey that aims to break China’s dependence on ground-based computers and elevate it to a new level in space exploration and AI technology.
These extraordinary spacecraft will utilize the cold vacuum of space for natural cooling, while concurrently processing data at a staggering combined capacity of 1,000 peta (or 1 quintillion) operations per second—a mind-boggling amount according to the Chinese government.
Wang Jian, the director of Zhejiang Lab, was quoted at the Beyond Expo tech conference in Macau, as saying, "It's a good time to think about how we can put AI into space, not just in your laptop or cellphone." The South China Morning Post reported his words, emphasizing the renewed significance of space as a frontier for visionary innovation.
Historically, many organizations have relied heavily on observations made by orbiting spacecraft for purposes such as GPS, climate monitoring, astronomy, and weather forecasting. However, raw data from spacecraft traditionally needs to be crunched on Earth, suffering limitations due to transmission bandwidths and the narrow windows of opportunity for sending data as satellites pass over ground stations.
To tackle this issue, companies have devised satellites capable of “edge computing,” where raw data is processed onboard the satellite prior to transmission to the ground. Performing these energy-consuming computations in space also reduces carbon emissions, thanks to the use of solar panels for power and the dissipation of waste heat into space.
Each satellite in China's current launch boasts an 8-billion-parameter AI model that can perform 744 tera operations per second (TOPS). The power increases when more satellites work together, reaching five peta operations per second in combined processing power—far surpassing the capabilities of laptops such as Microsoft's AI Copilot+.
These satellites will communicate with each other via lasers, with one satellite equipped with an X-ray polarization detector to study cosmic phenomena, such as gamma-ray bursts. The computing constellation takes its name from the three-body problem, a challenge first posed by Newton that involves predicting the intricate motion of three objects orbiting one another under gravity’s influence.
The initial inspiration carries over to the purported purpose of the constellation, as stated by Wang. He hopes that the endeavor will foster greater international cooperation in the project and allow other international organizations to build and utilize its computers. As of now, China's Three-Body Computing Constellation appears to leading the way in space computers, with the U.S. and Europe conducting only preliminary tests.
Other countries are not sitting idly by; former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who invested in the California launch company Relativity Space, has proposed launching data centers into orbit. As data centers require a substantial amount of power, it could be a revolutionary solution to the escalating energy crisis the sector faces.
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- China's Three-Body Problem: A Brief Exploration
- China Launches First 12 Satellites for Proposed AI Space Supercomputer Constellation
- China Counters NASA’s Artemis Moon Space Race with Plans for Hundreds of Satellites
- China and the New Space Race: MIT Technology Review
- Neijang High-Tech Zone: The Leading Hub of China's Space and AI Technology
- The Three-Body Computing Constellation, a pioneering AI-powered space network by ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab, aims to revolutionize space exploration and technology, featuring artificial intelligence and relying on advances in space-and-astronomy.
- The launch of China's initial set of satellites for the constellation marks the entrance of science and artificial-intelligence into the cosmos, taking advantage of edge computing, space cooling, and harnessing the power of countless satellites working collaboratively.
