The Three-Body Computing Constellation, Weaving a Computing Network in SpaceLike a tightened spring - recently, Li Chao, head of the Space-based Computing System Research Center of Zhijiang Laboratory, ran back and forth between the office, laboratory and command hall. As usual, he held an online scheduling meeting with colleagues who were conducting whole-satellite platform ring tests and multi-satellite joint tests in Jiaxing, and called the heads of various project teams to deploy and coordinate related work. The first constellation of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" has entered the countdown to launch. For him, every day's busyness is only for doing one thing well: trying to weave a computing power network in space as soon as possible.The seemingly whimsical plan is actually the thinking of Zhejiang scientists facing the future and developing new quality productivity.The pointer of time is turned back. At the "Artificial Intelligence Empowers the Development of New Quality Productivity" sub-forum of the 2024 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, Zhijiang Laboratory announced the launch of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" project for the first time. It will work with global partners to build a space-based intelligent computing infrastructure on a scale of thousands of stars. After the constellation is built, the entire space computing power will reach 1000P (100 trillion floating-point operations per second).Usually, satellites transmit the received data back to the earth, and then the ground data processing center analyzes it, which is called "sky sensing and ground computing". This mode is limited by bandwidth, with low data transmission efficiency and large information loss. Solving this problem is the starting point of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation". Li Chao introduced that by bringing computing power to space, the data received by the satellite can be processed in real time on orbit to achieve "sky sensing and sky computing"."We hope to greatly increase the computing power of a single satellite and realize the interconnection between satellites like the Internet connects computers." Wang Jian, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and director of Zhijiang Laboratory, said, "With the computing constellation, a satellite can also reflect the value of computing power, which has far-reaching significance for industrial transformation."So, more than 20 leading aerospace companies, universities, colleges, and scientific research institutions such as Guoxing Aerospace, Hexing Guanglian, and Tianlian Measurement and Control came. They carried out joint research in Zhijiang Laboratory. As part of each team, they reported project progress, analyzed problems, and proposed solutions in daily scheduling, weekly exchanges, and monthly summaries, and participated in the allocation of resource elements among all member units.The first floor of Building 7 of Zhijiang Laboratory is the command hall of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation". When you open the door, you can see a screen showing the countdown. Facing the reporter, Li Chao was nervous and excited: "The date of the first launch of the constellation is getting closer and closer!"The countdown pushed the team forward at an unprecedented speed. Since 2024, they have made breakthroughs in the key software and hardware technologies of space computing systems, successfully developed satellite-borne intelligent computers, intersatellite laser communication machines, satellite-borne high-speed routers, space-based distributed operating systems and space-based remote sensing large models, and have been verified by four space launches."This is an extremely complex system. At the beginning, everyone was unsure." Li Chao said frankly that the first thing he did after waking up every day was to think about the new problems he encountered-more than 100 hardware and 200 software on the satellite were all self-developed from scratch, and there was almost no experience to learn from.This scientific research process, Li Chao described as a process of constantly "stepping on the pit". For example, the ground station baseband equipment that was expected to be directly used is not compatible with the new environment of space computing, and all traditional non-networked aerospace equipment needs to be networked; for example, as the detailed design unfolds, the space-based distributed operating system needs to improve more and more content, and the final delivery team has written a total of 240,000 lines of code; for another example, after several months of debugging, the team has discovered and improved thousands of bugs (defects) on the satellite software...Faced with new difficulties, this team with an average age of less than 35 is full of enthusiasm, and more than 80% of the chief designers are young talents. "We have the opportunity to participate in the development of space computing constellations, and everyone is working hard to make it happen." Young researcher Zhang Yabing said.The first constellation of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" will create many "firsts" in the country. Zhao Zhifeng, chief engineer of Zhijiang Laboratory, introduced that this includes the first time that all satellites are equipped with space computing systems, the first time to carry out inter-orbit satellite interconnection, the first time to develop satellites using 3D printing, and the first time to build a constellation through consultation, co-construction, and sharing.In fact, the project has been brewing for a long time. In accordance with the requirements of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government to "anchor the first-class and benchmark the best", in July 2023, the Zhijiang Laboratory launched the "second entrepreneurial" reform, clearly stated "do one thing well in intelligent computing", and systematically optimized and reshaped the laboratory. On this basis, the laboratory established the general department of major scientific research tasks such as intelligent computing clusters, computing constellations, and scientific models, forming an effective exploration of interdisciplinary, collective intelligence and organized scientific research. This project comes from the general department of computing constellations."The provincial government work report proposes that we should do difficult and correct things with the determination of long-termists, and the Zhijiang Laboratory should do the same." Li Chao said with emotion that the laboratory will launch 12 satellites in one arrow in the first half of 2025, and will complete the layout of more than 50 constellations throughout 2025, promoting the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" to make Chinese contributions in the fields of global environmental governance, disaster prevention and mitigation, and sustainable development."Artificial intelligence cannot be absent from space because of the lack of computing power." In the command hall of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation", this slogan is like a star, guiding this group of Zhejiang scientists who are brave enough to climb to the top to continue to move forward.
2025 05/14 12:49:27来源：新华网Source: Xinhuanet我国成功发射太空计算卫星星座Our country successfully launches space computing satellite constellation新华社酒泉5月14日电（李国利、王晨宇）5月14日12时12分，我国在酒泉卫星发射中心使用长征二号丁运载火箭，成功将太空计算卫星星座发射升空，卫星顺利进入预定轨道，发射任务获得圆满成功。Xinhua News Agency, Jiuquan, May 14 (Li Guoli, Wang Chenyu) At 12:12 on May 14, my country successfully launched the space computing satellite constellation at the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center using the Long March 2D carrier rocket. The satellite successfully entered the predetermined orbit and the launch mission was a complete success.这次任务是长征系列运载火箭的第576次飞行。This mission is the 576th flight of the Long March series of carrier rockets.
The payloads as belowZhijiang-1 (之江一号)Zhijiang-2（之江二号）Tiantie Keji（天铁科技号）Chongzhou（崇州号）Taizhou（台州号）Haikou（海口号）Dalinghaowan（大零号湾）Neijiang（内江号）Maanshan Zhisuan-1（马鞍山智算一号）Miyan Wuliaoyuan（迷岩无聊猿号）Neijiang Gaoxin（内江高新号）Yukongzhe（御空者号）
The space computing satellite constellation was provided with launch services by the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation Commercial Rocket Co., Ltd. as the general contractor. The Long March 2D rocket was developed by the Eighth Academy of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It is a normal temperature liquid two-stage carrier rocket with single-satellite and multi-satellite launch capabilities under different orbital requirements. Its 700-kilometer sun-synchronous orbit carrying capacity is 1.3 tons.This mission adopts a layered layout of "top-mounted main satellite + side-mounted slave satellite". Two main satellites are stacked vertically at the top of the fairing, and 10 slave satellites are side-mounted in the barrel section in two layers, with 5 satellites evenly distributed in each layer. The mission put the satellite into orbit accurately through four satellite-rocket separations. The top-mounted main satellite separated in sequence, and the side-mounted satellites separated at the same time. The flight timing optimization and attitude adjustment technology ensured the safety of separation and reduced the attitude disturbance of the last stage.It is reported that this mission took only 5 months from the signing of the contract to the launch. The rocket team fully coordinated with the satellite party during the feasibility demonstration stage, analyzed key indicators such as the satellite-rocket electromechanical interface and orbital parameters in advance, and made the launch plan "detailed and practical", improving the speed of fulfillment and enhancing the rocket's compatibility with diversified payloads.
Quote from: mikezang on 05/14/2025 06:08 amThe payloads as belowZhijiang-1 (之江一号)Zhijiang-2（之江二号）Tiantie Keji（天铁科技号）Chongzhou（崇州号）Taizhou（台州号）Haikou（海口号）Dalinghaowan（大零号湾）Neijiang（内江号）Maanshan Zhisuan-1（马鞍山智算一号）Miyan Wuliaoyuan（迷岩无聊猿号）Neijiang Gaoxin（内江高新号）Yukongzhe（御空者号）Xingshidai-27 (Neijiang) 星时代27（内江号）Xingshidai-28 (Neijiang Gaoxin) 星时代28（内江高新号）Xingshidai-29 (Taizhou) 星时代29（台州号）Xingshidai-30 (Haikou) 星时代30（海口号）Xingshidai-31 (Maanshan Zhisuan-1) 星时代31（马鞍山智算一号）Xingshidai-32 (Chongzhou) 星时代32（崇州号）Xingshidai-33 (Tiantie Keji) 星时代33（天铁科技号）Xingshidai-34 (Miyan Wuliaoyuan) 星时代34（迷岩无聊猿号）Xingshidai-35 (Yukongzhe) 星时代35（御空者号）Xingshidai-36 (Dalinghaowan) 星时代36（大零号湾）Xingshidai-37 (Zhijiang-1) 星时代37 (之江一号)Xingshidai-38 (Zhijiang-2) 星时代38 (之江二号）
Successfully launched! Guangxi University led the research and development!On May 14, the Cosmic X-ray Polarimeter (CXPD) 03 and 04 series of cubic satellites developed by Guangxi University were successfully launched at Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on the first constellation of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" of Zhijiang Laboratory.As the scientific payload of the first constellation of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation", the CXPD series of satellites will rely on the independently developed space-based astronomical large model to implement on-orbit rapid detection, identification and classification of transient sources such as gamma-ray bursts, and trigger dual-satellite collaborative observations to build a new paradigm of artificial intelligence-enabled satellite-based computing and multi-satellite collaborative astronomical transient source observations.This series of cubic satellites was led by the School of Physical Science and Engineering Technology of Guangxi University, and the CXPD cooperation group formed by Central China Normal University, the Institute of High Energy Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences took ten years to complete. The research team has broken through a number of "bottleneck" technologies and achieved independent research and development of the entire chain from core components to satellite-based intelligent systems.
For CPXD 03/04 my guess is Zhijiang 1/2 since "Zhijiang Laboratory" is mentioned in the press release. The press release also says "cubic satellites developed by Guangxi University". This seems to also corroborate to Zhijiang 1/2 being different to the other satellites.
Six "Changsha-made" satellites were successfully launched in one rocketAt 12:12 on May 17, 2025, Beijing time, six commercial satellites developed by Changsha Tianyi Research Institute were launched into space on the improved version of the Suzaku-2 Yao-2 carrier rocket at the Dongfeng Commercial Aerospace Innovation Experimental Area. After the six satellites were accurately put into orbit, all telemetry parameters were normal, and the satellite sails and antennas were smoothly deployed. This launch mission was a complete success. So far, Tianyi has successfully completed the systematic deployment of 37 satellites, not only achieving a leapfrog development from "single-star verification" to "mass production", but also building the world's first batch of C-band commercial SAR satellites from "satellite design-constellation operation and maintenance-data service" full industrial ecological chain.The six satellites launched this time cover multiple fields, including one commercial SAR remote sensing satellite "Tianyi 42", two optical remote sensing satellites "Tianyi 29" and "Tianyi 35", and three space science experimental satellites "Tianyi 34", "Tianyi 45" and "Tianyi 46". After the six satellites were accurately put into orbit, all telemetry parameters were normal, and the satellite sails and antennas were smoothly deployed, and the launch mission was a complete success.The six satellites developed by Tianyi Research Institute this time have their own functions according to the requirements of investors.Tianyi 42, a new benchmark for global InSAR satellites: As the focus of this launch mission, it is a small, low-cost, high-performance C-band SAR satellite, and it is also the second commercial SAR satellite jointly developed by Tianyi Research Institute and Zhangye Constellation Space Technology Co., Ltd. The satellite is equipped with Tianyi's new generation of synthetic aperture radar payloads, and its key technical indicators have reached the international advanced level. It has all-day and all-weather ground observation capabilities and can efficiently and stably obtain high-resolution images under complex meteorological conditions. The satellite also has business InSAR capabilities, which can realize millimeter-level deformation monitoring of the ground surface. It has extremely wide application value in key areas related to people's livelihood, such as natural resource management, water conservancy, electricity, infrastructure monitoring, ocean and coastal monitoring, and disaster emergency management, and can provide global users with normalized, high-quality, autonomous and controllable commercial SAR image data services. After entering orbit, "Tianyi 42" will also cooperate with Shenqi 01 and Fucheng 1 to carry out re-orbit interferometric imaging, which can provide the world with operational InSAR services with an interferometric measurement cycle of 3 to 4 days.New optical remote sensing tools "Tianyi 29" and "Tianyi 35": Leading the development of geological exploration and environmental monitoring technology "Tianyi 29" and "Tianyi 35" are two optical remote sensing satellites. Among them, "Tianyi 29" is a high-spectral geological remote sensing intelligent small satellite led by China University of Geosciences (Wuhan). The whole satellite has carried out a concentrated and fine design of the geological detection spectrum, covering 410nm-2480nm, forming a characteristic spectrum for geological industry applications. In addition, "Tianyi 29" has overcome a number of key technologies such as high-reliability integrated optical-mechanical system design, high-reliability infrared focal plane filter spectrometry technology, and camera TDI multi-spectral visible light detection technology. These technological breakthroughs provide solid support for the efficient application of satellite data in the field of geological environment remote sensing. "Tianyi 29" can provide high-precision remote sensing data and professional analysis services for geological and environmental detection, monitoring, identification, interpretation and analysis. Its application scope covers multiple fields such as mineral composition detection, rock type identification, alteration information extraction, soil quality assessment and water pollution monitoring. Through these high-quality data and services, "Tianyi 29" will help scientists interpret the geological structure of the earth more accurately, and provide strong scientific basis and technical support for resource development, environmental protection and disaster prevention."Tianyi 35" is a multi-spectral ecological environment monitoring intelligent remote sensing satellite developed by Nanchang Hangkong University. The satellite platform has significant advantages in intelligence and autonomy. The multi-spectral camera carried adopts an advanced off-axis three-mirror optical system, which comprehensively improves the imaging performance and imaging quality by finely optimizing optical parameters such as focal length, field of view, F number, aperture, spectral range and spectral band selection. At the same time, the CMOS detector selected by the camera has high quantum efficiency, low noise performance and high-speed imaging capability, which can effectively meet the diversified application needs of real-time monitoring and rapid response. Especially in the field of water environment remote sensing applications, "Tianyi 35" has unique advantages and can accurately detect and analyze information such as water pollution, water quality monitoring, and algae. In addition, "Tianyi 35" can also be used for land environment remote sensing applications, including soil, vegetation and other information monitoring, to provide comprehensive data support for achieving regional sustainable development goals. In addition, Tianyi Research Institute will also jointly conduct on-orbit verification of key technologies for optical-SAR collaboration with Shenqi 02 of Zhangye SAR constellation and the above two optical remote sensing satellites to achieve efficient fusion processing and precise utilization of two types of remote sensing data, improve the integrity, accuracy and timeliness of earth observation data in complex environments, and provide more reliable aerospace information support for disaster emergency monitoring, environmental monitoring, and dynamic resource assessment.Frontier Space Test Site "Tianyi 45" and "Tianyi 46": "Tianyi 45" and "Tianyi 46", which have refreshed the records of on-orbit verification and deep space exploration of aerospace information technology, are the second batch of satellites planned by Tiansuan Constellation, led by Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. Both satellites are equipped with laser communication payloads that support a communication rate of 200Gbps, and the communication distance can reach 2000km. In addition, the two satellites are also equipped with advanced equipment such as space servers, star-calculating computers, and Kaufman electric propulsion. They will carry out on-orbit verification of a number of cutting-edge achievements in aerospace information technology, including 6G intelligent semantic communication transmission, 6G satellite-borne core network architecture test, satellite-borne container operation reliability and performance test, satellite-ground high-speed data transmission link protocol performance test, satellite-ground IP network real-time audio and video call service quality test, satellite-borne IoT time series database management system test, and on-board image reasoning with energy consumption and heat dissipation perception. The coordinated application of these advanced technologies will promote the gradual implementation of the vision of "sky calculation, ground calculation, sky calculation", and contribute innovative momentum and smart solutions to the country's exploration of aerospace information infrastructure construction. In addition, the "Tianyi 45 Star" satellite platform uses the "Xingcheng II" argon ion thruster independently developed by Xingcheng Huiyu (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. This type of thruster has low cost, specific impulse of 1600 seconds, and a large thrust adjustment range. It will be mainly used for the precise orbit control of "Tianyi 45" and active deorbit control at the end of the satellite's life. At the same time, this flight will also carry out the third on-orbit ignition test, orbit change test and product life test of this type of electric thruster, providing technical support for the development and application of subsequent products."Tianyi 34" is the first microsatellite of Southern University of Science and Technology for space science research. Its main payloads are the space electric field measurement payload and aurora camera payload independently developed by Southern University of Science and Technology. The satellite is also equipped with Tiange payload (space gamma-ray burst detection payload), Guangxi University CXPD payload (space X-ray polarization detection payload), and the satellite-to-ground IP link terminal and thermoelectric verification unit independently developed by Tianyi Research Institute. Among them, the space electric field measurement payload measures the time-varying electric field in space plasma through an antenna, providing a key means for monitoring the Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere. This payload is the first time in the world that an electric field antenna of more than 10 meters (up to 12 meters) has been deployed on a microsatellite platform, breaking the record of the length of the electric field antenna of a microsatellite. This breakthrough enables microsatellites to conduct high-precision electric field measurements, providing a new solution for the development of my country's deep space exploration technology. The "Tianyi 34" aurora camera payload uses a satellite-borne camera to record a wide range of aurora observation data in real time and capture aurora phenomena in high-latitude areas. This payload is the first attempt in China to use a microsatellite platform to conduct optical observations of aurora. Through precise orbit design, "Tianyi 34" can observe continuously for 9 minutes during a single flight over the aurora belt. At the same time, with the help of the high-sensitivity aurora camera on board, it can dynamically record the evolution of aurora morphology, providing key data for revealing the interaction mechanism between the solar wind and the Earth's magnetosphere. During the in-orbit operation of the two types of payloads, "Tianyi 34" will focus on the study of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling and space weather effects, providing key data support for improving the accuracy of space weather forecasts and ensuring the safe operation of spacecraft.In addition, Tianyi Research Institute will also rely on "Tianyi 45", "Tianyi 46" and "Tianyi 34" to carry out a series of independent key technology verification work such as satellite-ground IP link real-time data interaction technology, thermoelectric conversion technology, and intersatellite laser communication attitude control technology, to promote the comprehensive improvement of the technical capabilities of satellite platforms in the fields of intelligent measurement and control, efficient energy utilization, and intersatellite high-speed data transmission, and lay a solid technical foundation for the networking and operation of the next generation of high-performance SAR satellites in the future.This launch is the first six-satellite mission of Tianyi Research Institute and the 20th space mission of Tianyi. So far, Tianyi has successfully completed the systematic deployment of 37 satellites, not only realizing the leapfrog development from "single-satellite verification" to "mass production", but also building the world's first batch of C-band commercial SAR satellites from "satellite design-constellation operation and maintenance-data service" full industrial ecological chain."The launch of six satellites in one rocket covers the entire series of Tianyi Institute's 20kg to 300kg satellite platform products, marking a new stage in the development of Tianyi Institute's small satellite technology and a new starting point for the industrialization and application of satellites by Tianyi Institute. Tianyi Institute will always be committed to the innovative research and development of remote sensing satellites and scientific research satellite platforms, constantly breaking through core technologies such as low cost, modularization, and intelligence, and continuously promoting the iterative upgrade of commercial small satellite technology systems." Yang Feng, head of Tianyi Institute, said that in the future, Tianyi Institute will continue to aim at "providing full-link technical support for the large-scale networking operation of commercial SAR remote sensing satellites, and creating a highly reliable and high-performance SAR constellation service system", comprehensively empowering space technology innovation and industrial application ecosystem construction, and contributing to building a strong country in science and technology.
Xingshidai 34 wears still another name: BAYC #7573https://chainwire.org/2025/05/18/the-first-computing-satellite-named-after-bayc-successfully-launched-ushering-in-the-era-of-web3-interstellar-computing/
Notably, one of the satellites is named after Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) #7573, symbolizing a landmark moment where Web3 steps beyond the digital realm into a space-based computing network.
https://m.spacechina.com/n2014789/n2014804/c4336622/content.htmlInterestingly, the launch services were provided by the CASC Commercial Rocket co, (中国航天科技集团商业火箭有限公司), the new high level CASC subsidiary (although mainly tied to Shanghai's aerospace sector and SAST) founded in September 2024 [1] and that has led the development of the reusable "CZ-12B"/"4m Kerolox Reusable LV" whose S2 had a static fire in March [2].
