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canopic jug [soylentnews.org] writes:

The Verge, Space News, and The South China Morning Post are reporting that Red China has begun assembling a 744 TOPS super computer in Earth's orbit. The advantages of an orbital super computer include better access to solar energy, easier radiation of waste heat, and, above all, shorter communications times with other satellites.

The satellites communicate with each other at up-to-100Gbps using lasers, and share 30 terabytes of storage between them, according to Space News. The 12 launched last week carry scientific payloads, including an X-ray polarization detector for picking up brief cosmic phenomena such as gamma-ray bursts. The satellites also have the capability to create 3D digital twin data that can be used for purposes like emergency response, gaming, and tourism, ADA Space says in its announcement.

— China begins assembling its supercomputer in space [theverge.com]. The Verge.

They are part of the Three-Body Computing Constellation, space-based infrastructure being developed by Zhejiang Lab. Once complete, the constellation would support real-time, in-orbit data processing with a total computing capacity of 1,000 peta operations per second (POPS) – or one quintillion operations per second – the report said.

— China launches satellites to start building the world’s first supercomputer in orbit [scmp.com]. The South China Morning Post.

The satellites feature advanced AI capabilities, up to 100 Gbps laser inter-satellite links and remote sensing payloads—data from which will be processed onboard, reducing data transmission requirements. One satellite also carries a cosmic X-ray polarimeter developed by Guangxi University and the National Astronomical Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC), which will detect, identify and classify transient events such as gamma-ray bursts, while also triggering messages to enable followup observations by other missions.

— China launches first of 2,800 satellites for AI space computing constellation [spacenews.com]. Space News.

Maintenance will be difficult.

Previously:
(2025) PA’s Largest Coal Plant to Become 4.5GW Gas-Fired AI Hub [soylentnews.org]
(2025) FTC Removes Posts Critical of Amazon, Microsoft, and AI Companies [soylentnews.org]
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(2022) Amazon and Microsoft Want to Go Big on Data Centres, but the Power Grid Can't Support Them [soylentnews.org]

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