Latest news with #Jiuquan
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China just started building an AI supercomputer in space
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. China has launched its first cluster of satellites for a planned artificial intelligence (AI) supercomputer constellation in space. The 12 satellites are the beginnings of a proposed 2,800-satellite fleet led by the company ADA Space and Zhejiang Lab that will one day form the Three-Body Computing Constellation, a satellite network that will directly process data in space. The satellites, which launched on board a Long March 2D rocket from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center May 14, are part of a plan to lower China's dependence on ground-based computers. Instead, the satellites will use the cold vacuum of space as a natural cooling system while they crunch data with a combined computing capacity of 1,000 peta (1 quintillion) operations per second, according to the Chinese government. "It's a good time to think about how we can put AI into space, not just in your laptop or cellphone," Wang Jian, director of Zhejiang Lab, said at the Beyond Expo tech conference in Macau Wednesday (May 21), the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported. "Space has, again, become the frontier for us to think about what we can do in the next 10, 20 or 50 years." Whether satellites are used for GPS systems, climate sensors, telescopes, weather forecasting or communication, many organizations increasingly rely on the observations made by orbiting spacecraft. But this raw data needs to be crunched back on Earth, meaning it's limited by transmission bandwidths and the narrow windows it can be sent as satellites pass over ground stations, meaning a lot of it is lost. Related: China plans to build enormous solar array in space — and it could collect more energy in a year than 'all the oil on Earth' To overcome this restriction, companies have begun designing satellites capable of "edge computing," where raw data is processed on board the satellite before being transmitted down to the ground. Doing these energy-intensive computations in orbit also allows the satellites' power to be drawn from solar panels and their waste heat radiated into space, thereby lowering their carbon footprint. Each satellite in China's launch contains an 8 billion-parameter AI model that can perform 744 tera operations per second (TOPS), according to a translated ADA Space statement, with the number shooting up to five peta operations per second when their processing power is combined. For reference, Microsoft's AI Copilot+ laptops can currently process at a rate of around 40 TOPS. Orbiting in an array, the satellites will communicate with each other using lasers, one of which is equipped with an X-ray polarization detector for studying cosmic phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts. The computing constellation gets its name from the three-body problem, a question first formulated by Isaac Newton that involves predicting the chaotic motion of three objects orbiting each other under the effects of gravity. The quandary served as inspiration for the renowned science-fiction trilogy of the same name written by Chinese author Liu Cixin, alongside a Netflix adaptation. This initial inspiration carries over to the purported aims of the constellation, according to Wang, who highlighted the complexities of working with multiple entities in a call for increased international cooperation in the project. He claimed that the array will permit other international organizations to build and use its computers, the SCMP reported. Although the U.S. and Europe have performed tests on space computers, China's array is the first to be deployed at an operable scale. Meanwhile, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, following his purchase of a controlling interest in the California launch company Relativity Space, has proposed launching data centers into orbit. RELATED STORIES —China signs deal with Russia to build a power plant on the moon — potentially leaving the US in the dust —China will launch giant, reusable rockets next year to prep for human missions to the moon —China successfully grows lettuce and tomatoes aboard Tiangong space station "People are planning 10 gigawatt data centers," Schmidt said during an April 9 hearing with the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. "It gives you a sense of how big this crisis is." "One of the estimates that I think is most likely is that data centers will require an additional 29 gigawatts of power by 2027, and 67 more gigawatts by 2030," he added. "These things are industrial at a scale that I have never seen in my life."
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
China Is Building an AI-Powered Supercomputer Network in Space
China is launching a space-bound AI supercomputer — and the first batch of the satellites it's comprised of was just sent up. As the South China Morning Post reports, the so-called "Three-Body Computing Constellation" project launched the first 12 of its planned 2,800 satellites last week from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China. The orbital supercomputer network will, when complete, allow for rapid in-orbit data processing rather than relying on terrestrial computing facilities to relay information to Earth and then back up to space. It also doesn't require the copious amounts of water ground-based computers need to stay cool. Each satellite, the SCMP notes, carries an eight-billion-parameter AI model that can process raw data in orbit. Paired with the satellites' massive computing power of one quintillion operations per second, the constellation is expected, when complete, to rival the world's most powerful terrestrial supercomputers. Launched from northwest China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, each satellite carries, per a statement from the ADA Space startup that helped launch the constellation, unique scientific payloads that can do everything from detect gamma ray bursts to create "digital twins" of Earth terrain for emergency services and other industries. While the concept of orbital computing is nothing new, this project is, as Harvard astronomer Jonathan McDowell told SCMP, "the first substantial flight test" of the gambit. As McDowell pointed out, theoretical space cloud computing projects are "very fashionable" right now, with private companies like Axiom Space and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin planning their own orbital computing satellites. Unlike terrestrial data centers, which, according to the International Energy Agency are on track to use as much energy as Japan by 2026, orbital data centers can "use solar power and radiate their heat to space, reducing the energy needs and carbon footprint," as McDowell told SCMP. With the launch of the first of its 2,800 satellites, China's orbital supercomputer puts the country ahead of the United States in the rival countries' space race, though there's no telling which will actually cross the finish line first. More on the space race: White House Announces It Can Now "Manipulate Time and Space"
South China Morning Post
22-05-2025
- Science
- South China Morning Post
Chinese scientist behind supercomputer in orbit urges collaborative use of AI in space
Renowned Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) scholar Wang Jian has called for greater integration of the technology in space exploration, as he shared his vision on the state-backed Zhejiang Lab's plan to build a computing constellation consisting of 1,000 satellites, designed to process data in orbit rather than through land infrastructure. Advertisement 'It's a good time to think about how we can put AI into space, not just in your laptop or cellphone,' said Wang, director of Zhejiang Lab and founder of Alibaba Group Holding's cloud computing unit , during a keynote speech at the Beyond Expo tech conference in Macau on Wednesday. 'Space has, again, become the frontier for us to think about what we can do in the next 10, 20 or 50 years,' he said, adding that 'we don't want AI missing in space'. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. On May 14, China launched into orbit the first batch of satellites for its space computing constellation aboard a Long March 2D rocket from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre. The 12 satellites are part of the Three-Body Computing Constellation being developed by Zhejiang Lab, with the mission of carrying out cross-orbit laser communication and astronomical observations. A Long March 2D rocket carrying a space computing satellite constellation blasts off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in northwest China on May 14. Photo: Xinhua First unveiled in November at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen in east Zhejiang province, the Three-Body project aims to establish infrastructure in space to enhance computing efficiency compared to Earth-based data processing. The ultimate goal is to achieve a total computing power of 1,000 petaflops – equivalent to a quintillion calculations per second.
CNA
18-05-2025
- Science
- CNA
China's LandSpace launches improved methane-powered rocket
BEIJING: A new methane-powered rocket developed by China's LandSpace Technology launched six satellites into orbit on Saturday (May 18), as the private startup doubles down on a cheap, cleaner fuel that it hopes will help it develop reusable rockets. The Zhuque-2E Y2 carrier rocket blasted off at 12.12 pm (4.12 GMT) from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, marking the fifth flight for the Zhuque-2 series, according to a company statement. Beijing-based LandSpace became the world's first company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen rocket in July 2023, ahead of US rivals including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. Interest has grown in recent years in launching carrier vehicles fueled by methane, which is deemed less polluting, safer and cheaper than more commonly used hydrocarbon fuels, and a suitable propellant in a reusable rocket. LandSpace has increased the rocket's payload, reflecting increasing demand in China's expanding commercial space industry amid growing competition to form a constellation of satellites as an alternative to Musk's Starlink. Its first successful methane-powered launch did not carry any real satellites, but the second launch in December 2023 successfully sent into orbit three satellites. Saturday's launch put six satellites into orbit, mainly developed by Chinese firm Spacety, also known as Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute. Li Xiaoming, the institute's vice-president, said in a livestream hosted by LandSpace before the launch that the payload comprised a radar satellite, two multispectral satellites and three satellites for scientific experiments, weighing between 20kg and 300kg. REUSABLE ROCKETS The three research-focussed satellites will help with China's deep-space exploration ambitions, while the pair of multispectral satellites will be dedicated to environmental monitoring and identifying mineral deposits, respectively, Li said. The radar satellite is an all-weather Earth-observation satellite that produces images during the day and night, as well as see through clouds and rain, he added. The radar satellite "can also pick up small, millimeter-level shifts in the surface, a capability that makes it extremely useful across urban development, transportation and energy infrastructure monitoring," said Li. Spacety was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in January 2023 for allegedly supplying a Russian company with radar satellite imagery over Ukraine, which the US said was used to enable the Russian mercenary group Wagner's combat operations in Ukraine. Spacety has denied the claims, saying it has never had any business dealings with the entities mentioned by the Treasury Department and that its products and services are solely intended for commercial and civilian use. Reusable rockets, pioneered by SpaceX, have demonstrated that they can lower costs for launch vehicles and space transportation. LandSpace founder and CEO Zhang Changwu has said the company had started developing reusable rockets and expected to conduct a test launch in the second half of 2025. The latest model in its Zhuque-2 series includes technical improvements that will help the company's goal of launching a reusable rocket. Saturday's launch marked the first time LandSpace has deployed a propulsion method that involves chilling both liquid oxygen and methane below their boiling points, boosting thrust. Chinese commercial space firms have rushed into the sector since 2014, when the government allowed private investment in the industry. LandSpace was one of the earliest and best-funded entrants. Founded in 2015, LandSpace has secured funding from investors including venture capital firm HongShan, known at that time as Sequoia Capital China, the investment arm of Chinese property developer Country Garden and the state-backed China SME Development Fund. LandSpace raised 900 million yuan (US$120 million) in December from a state-owned fund focussed on advanced manufacturing, while in 2020 it raised 1.2 billion yuan, Chinese corporate databases showed.
Free Malaysia Today
17-05-2025
- Science
- Free Malaysia Today
China's LandSpace sends improved methane-powered rocket into orbit
Today's launch put six satellites into orbit, mainly developed by Chinese firm Spacety. (Reuters pic) BEIJING : A new methane-powered rocket developed by China's LandSpace Technology launched six satellites into orbit today, as the private start-up doubles down on a cheap, cleaner fuel that it hopes will help it develop reusable rockets. The Zhuque-2E Y2 carrier rocket blasted off at 12.12pm from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China, marking the fifth flight for the Zhuque-2 series, according to a company statement. Beijing-based LandSpace became the world's first company to launch a methane-liquid oxygen rocket in July 2023, ahead of US rivals including Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin. Interest has grown in recent years in launching carrier vehicles fuelled by methane, which is deemed less polluting, safer and cheaper than more commonly used hydrocarbon fuels, and a suitable propellant in a reusable rocket. LandSpace has increased the rocket's payload, reflecting increasing demand in China's expanding commercial space industry amid growing competition to form a constellation of satellites as an alternative to Musk's Starlink. Its first successful methane-powered launch did not carry any real satellites, but the second launch in December 2023 successfully sent into orbit three satellites. Today's launch put six satellites into orbit, mainly developed by Chinese firm Spacety, also known as Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute. Li Xiaoming, the institute's vice-president, said in a live stream hosted by LandSpace before the launch that the payload comprised a radar satellite, two multispectral satellites and three satellites for scientific experiments, weighing between 20kg and 300kg. Reusable rockets The three research-focussed satellites will help with China's deep-space exploration ambitions, while the pair of multispectral satellites will be dedicated to environmental monitoring and identifying mineral deposits, respectively, Li said. The radar satellite is an all-weather Earth-observation satellite that produces images during the day and night, as well as see through clouds and rain, he added. The radar satellite 'can also pick up small, millimetre-level shifts in the surface, a capability that makes it extremely useful across urban development, transportation and energy infrastructure monitoring', said Li. Spacety was sanctioned by the US treasury department in January 2023 for allegedly supplying a Russian company with radar satellite imagery over Ukraine, which the US said was used to enable the Russian mercenary group Wagner's combat operations in Ukraine. Spacety has denied the claims, saying it has never had any business dealings with the entities mentioned by the treasury department and that its products and services are solely intended for commercial and civilian use. Reusable rockets, pioneered by SpaceX, have demonstrated that they can lower costs for launch vehicles and space transportation. LandSpace founder and CEO Zhang Changwu has said the company had started developing reusable rockets and expected to conduct a test launch in the second half of 2025. The latest model in its Zhuque-2 series includes technical improvements that will help the company's goal of launching a reusable rocket. Today's launch marked the first time LandSpace has deployed a propulsion method that involves chilling both liquid oxygen and methane below their boiling points, boosting thrust. Chinese commercial space firms have rushed into the sector since 2014, when the government allowed private investment in the industry. LandSpace was one of the earliest and best-funded entrants. Founded in 2015, LandSpace has secured funding from investors including venture capital firm HongShan, known at that time as Sequoia Capital China, the investment arm of Chinese property developer Country Garden and the state-backed China SME Development Fund. LandSpace raised 900 million yuan (US$120 million) in December from a state-owned fund focused on advanced manufacturing, while in 2020 it raised 1.2 billion yuan (US$170 million), Chinese corporate databases showed.
