China CAS Space Lijian-1 Commercial Rocket Delivers AI-powered Satellites
China on July 24, 2026, launched a CAS Space Lijian-1 Y15 carrier rocket, sending five satellites into space with two of them equipped with advanced artificial intelligence (AI) large models in a pioneering effort to expand AI application use in space.
The Jitian Star A-04 satellite is equipped with embodied intelligent models developed by Zhejiang Lab, a research institution based in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province.
The model enables the satellite to manage itself as it can autonomously complete multiple in-orbit tasks, such as monitoring the satellite's status, as well as planning and executing onboard missions for a single satellite or a satellite cluster.
The Xiguang-2 03 satellite carries three AI meteorological models that can improve efficiency and precision of forecast for sudden weather events like short-duration torrential rains and strong winds.
It typically takes conventional meteorological satellites 90 minutes to transmit weather data to ground stations after recording it. The ground team also need time to parse and correct data before releasing the forecasts, resulting in slow data refresh rates. The workflow is efficient enough for conventional weather services but falls short of the demand to issue timely forecast for abrupt weather events.
The two satellites are part of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" project. This was initiated by the Zhejiang Lab and aims to send AI into space to achieve in-orbit data processing.
On May 14, 2025, the first batch of 12 computing satellites of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" successfully entered orbit.
According to the plan, the constellation will reach a scale of 100 satellites by 2027.
Experts said that by strengthening coordination among satellites and equipping them with AI models, data collected across the globe can be processed more efficiently.
"Currently, there is no joint global efforts to process data in space and the real-time data transmission cannot be ensured. These can only be addressed by strengthened coordination among satellites. With the assistance of AI models, the satellites can achieve real-time process of data collected across the globe, thus pushing AI application from the ground into space," said Li Chao, chief technology engineer of the "Three-Body Computing Constellation" project.
Duration: 48 seconds
Release Date: July 25, 2026
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