Xingshu Plan (星枢计划) is a Shanghai-based space computing program led by Fudan University, which supplies the underlying space-based large-model technology, together with Xingshu Tiansuan Aerospace Technology, which leads the program's research, development and operations. The program aims to build a distributed network of computing satellites that provide on-demand computing services to sectors including energy, maritime and government.
During the recent World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai, the program unveiled its first "constellation" - a group of three linked satellites, launched together to work as a single coordinated unit. The group uses a "one main, two auxiliary" architecture: a central computing satellite, a "Fuxi" weather satellite carrying a microwave radiometer for all-weather atmospheric sensing, and an ultra-low-orbit remote-sensing satellite with its own onboard edge-computing capability. The three satellites are linked by inter-satellite laser communication, and the group is designed so that data collection, AI inference and analysis are all completed in orbit, without needing to downlink raw data to the ground. It's the central computing satellite in this first group that uses perovskite tandem solar cells to provide its power.
The central computing satellite - envisioned as the constellation's "space brain" - carries a custom domestic aerospace-grade GPU chip rated at 32 POPS (peta-operations per second), aimed at closing a domestic gap in large-scale real-time on-orbit computing. To power it, the satellite uses perovskite tandem solar cells delivering 15 kW. According to Fudan University, the technology provides higher in-orbit conversion efficiency than conventional monocrystalline silicon panels while remaining significantly less expensive than gallium arsenide (GaAs) space cells - a combination suited to matching the GPU's continuous, high power draw. The satellite also carries a three-tier thermal management system (active micro-channel liquid cooling, multi-layer passive insulation and deployable radiators) built to manage the GPU's heat output over the long term, and is targeting inter-satellite and satellite-to-ground laser communication links of up to 400 Gbps.
Xingshu Tiansuan Aerospace Technology is indirectly controlled by Drinda, the parent company of solar cell manufacturer JTPV, through a subsidiary called Xuntian Qianhe that holds a 74% stake; Xuntian Qianhe's technical team reportedly originates from China's 8th Academy of Aerospace, a major satellite-integration institute.
Under the program's current roadmap, this first three-satellite group is meant as a proof-of-concept step: an engineering-verification phase will add two more computing satellites and 12 edge-computing satellites, a commercial deployment phase will add 50 computing satellites and 100 edge-computing satellites, and the program aims to reach roughly 1,000 satellites in orbit at full commercial operation.
