https://j.people.com.cn/n3/2026/0720/c95952-20479603.html
During the “Future Computing and Computing Power” forum at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), the first constellation of the “Star Hub Project”—Shanghai’s flagship space-based digital infrastructure initiative—was officially announced.
The “Star Hub Project” is positioned as Shanghai’s flagship space-based computing power constellation project. The plan involves launching two computing power satellites and twelve edge computing satellites during the demonstration phase; deploying fifty computing power satellites and one hundred edge computing satellites during the commercial rollout phase; and ultimately completing a satellite constellation on the scale of 1,000 satellites during the commercial operation phase.
The initial constellation adopts a “one main satellite, two auxiliary satellites” cluster configuration (comprising a central computing power main satellite, the “Fuxi” weather satellite, and a real-time remote sensing satellite). It aims to build an integrated space-ground AI computing network that enables two-way coordination, processing both space-based and ground-based data in orbit. Furthermore, it seeks to establish China’s first space-based computing infrastructure that integrates standardized in-orbit distributed computing, multi-modal sensing, and high-speed inter-satellite transmission, alongside a foundation for space-based industry-specific large language models.
The central computing power main satellite serves as the “space brain” of the constellation and is equipped with a proprietary distributed, wide-area hybrid computing power scheduling platform. The main satellite incorporates five groundbreaking domestic hardware technologies, filling several gaps in China’s technological capabilities. For instance, it is equipped with a domestically developed, space-grade custom GPU chip, addressing a technological void in the field of large-scale, real-time on-orbit satellite computing in China. The Fuxi meteorological satellite is equipped with a high-precision microwave radiometer, providing robust support for global early warning systems regarding extreme weather, as well as for disaster prevention and mitigation. The rapid-response remote sensing satellite carries high-resolution visible-light and infrared observation instruments, delivering the remote sensing imagery and on-orbit AI computing capabilities required for tasks such as emergency disaster assessment.
The “Star Hub” (Xing Shu) initiative is expected to drive the growth of over 100 related companies over the next five years, boosting the annual output value of Shanghai’s space-based computing industry to more than 100 billion yuan.