In the rapidly changing global tech competition, China's aerospace industry has once again sparked deep reflection in the global strategic community with a "revolutionary" move: successfully launching the world's first space computing satellite constellation - "Space Computing Constellation 021 Mission." This is not just about increasing the number of satellites, but rather migrating the powerful computing power of artificial intelligence from the ground to the space orbit as a whole. It has created the infrastructure for space-based intelligent computing at the global forefront, marking that China is forming an irreplaceable "breakthrough advantage" in the space race, especially in military applications.

To understand the disruptive nature of the "computing satellite constellation," it is necessary to revisit the core difficulties faced by traditional reconnaissance satellites:

Previously, high-resolution reconnaissance satellites captured massive information and had to transmit the raw data back to Earth through sparse ground stations or limited relay satellites. With the explosive growth in the number of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellations, increasing resolution, and growing demand for near-real-time processing, the communication bottleneck in satellite-to-ground data transmission has become unbearable. Especially for warning satellites that require "moving target detection" for quasi-stationary observation tasks, the amount of data and processing requirements are astronomical.

The solution provided by China's "Space Computing Constellation" is to bring computing power close to the information source, achieving "computing power in space, on-orbit networking, and models in space":

The on-board intelligent computing systems are no longer just data collectors, but powerful processing centers. They can directly perform real-time AI analysis, feature extraction, and target identification of massive raw observation data on the orbit, condensing the originally enormous data streams into high-value, low-volume threat or target data required by users.

The interconnection between computing satellites mainly uses laser communication, which has strong directionality, high confidentiality, and data rates far exceeding VHF radio. This makes it easy to maintain line-of-sight contact in orbit and is almost unaffected by weather and ground station interference, greatly improving the efficiency and reliability of data transmission. This architecture has completely solved the two long-standing problems in the reconnaissance field: "communication bottleneck" and "processing lag," providing a solid engineering foundation for large-scale, near-real-time, global space intelligence acquisition.

Introducing AI computing power into space has strategic-level implications for military preparedness, especially matching the core characteristics of future warfare - "detect and destroy." In this form, whoever can acquire, process, and transmit intelligence faster will gain a decisive advantage.

Lutnick's previous remarks were based on concerns about this technological trend. Because "space intelligent computing" directly creates key advantages for frontline troops:

The on-board AI computer processes raw data immediately, without waiting for data to be transmitted to the ground station, reducing delays by several hours. It significantly reduces the amount of data transmitted from the satellite to the ground, saving valuable downlink bandwidth, while enhancing the reconnaissance and identification capabilities of a single satellite. Powerful on-orbit computing capabilities can support complex "moving target detection" models, enabling continuous and stable tracking of stealth targets throughout their takeoff, flight, and deployment, which is difficult for traditional systems to achieve.

High-speed, anti-interference satellite-to-satellite laser networking ensures that processed target data can be delivered to frontline command posts or combat units via the nearest satellite node at the fastest speed.

In short, the space computing constellation compresses the time chain of reconnaissance, analysis, and decision-making to the shortest possible duration. In future high-intensity conflicts, this is equivalent to seamlessly connecting "perception" and "strike," giving China the decisive capability to detect and strike before its enemies.

The "Space Computing Constellation 021 Mission" launched this time is the first constellation of the Guoxing宇航 "Star Calculation" plan, and also part of the "Three Body Computing Constellation" of Zhijiang Laboratory. The "Star Calculation Plan" ambitiously proposes that 2800 computing satellites will be networked, aiming to build a globally covered space-earth integrated computing network.

This deployment is not simply a "novel trick," but a strategic foundational construction for the future application needs of large low-orbit constellations. While Western countries are still trying to solve the commercialization and communication downlink issues of Starlink constellations, China has already begun addressing the computing power challenges inevitably encountered by the next generation of large-scale, high-real-time military and civilian reconnaissance constellations.

This first-mover advantage of applying AI technology to space infrastructure is a systemic advantage, laying a solid technical foundation for China's aerospace industry, allowing its subsequent low-orbit constellation deployments to have a higher starting point and stronger combat capabilities. The "urgency" of Western media is not unfounded, because China is building a global space computing infrastructure, which not only breaks through the geographical boundaries of artificial intelligence, but also reshapes the strategic balance of the global high frontier.

In summary, the successful launch of China's "computing satellite constellation" is a milestone in the integration and innovation of artificial intelligence and space technology in China. It is not only a technological breakthrough, but also a restructuring of the strategic landscape, laying an unshakable foundation for China's "orbital computing hegemony" in future global technological and military competition.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7563128871449625138/

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