China is deploying components of an orbital data center into space, including on-orbit computing power, software that can be updated like cloud infrastructure, and high-speed laser connections. This approach is being implemented instead of waiting for the creation of a single mega-platform, according to an analytical review by Tencent News from September 23rd concerning recent missions. This initiative aligns with a global concept of technological infrastructure involving distributed computers, schedulers, and networks operating above the atmosphere.
The first element was computing power. The three-party computing constellation from Zhejiang Laboratory launched initial 12 computing satellites into orbit in May 2025. The peak performance of a single satellite reached 744 TOPS, and the total performance of the first flight was about 5 POPS. By February 2026, the team reported six satellites linked in orbit via a distributed space operating system that manages calculations, data storage, and network connections between nodes. Models installed on board are already classifying astronomical events, such as gamma-ray bursts, allowing only compressed alerts—in kilobytes instead of hundreds of megabytes—to be transmitted.
Separately, during the recent Y18 mission, the Lijian-1 satellite delivered Super AI Computing-1, which combines optical imaging with an on-board AI computer. Pengcheng Nanke-1 from the Pengcheng Laboratory was also launched, equipped with a 5G extraterrestrial network, orbital computing, and planned laser links to ground stations, weighing about 150 kilograms.
The second key aspect is software manageability. The work of the Tianshuan constellation from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications included launching cloud-oriented stacks on BUPT-1 and high-performance server payloads on BUPT-2. These tests aimed to verify container updates, incremental model updates, and the 5G core in space—capabilities that become critically important when numerous heterogeneous nodes must be treated as a common pool rather than as one-off payloads.
The third direction is bandwidth. The Institute of Aerospace Information Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences used AIRSAT-02 to conduct experiments on laser communication from satellite to ground station at frequencies exceeding 100 Gbps. An increase in data transmission speed from 60 Gbps to 120 Gbps was demonstrated through on-orbit software reconfiguration without hardware replacement, recording a continuous pass lasting 108 seconds with a transmission of about 12.656 TB. Furthermore, Pengcheng Nanke-1 is planned to utilize a 100 Gbps laser link along with terminal access and on-board protocol processing. It is important to note that none of these projects currently constitute a complete orbital data center; however, collectively they demonstrate parallel progress in computing, cloud-style operations, and high-speed connectivity.