On September 20th, China successfully launched the Pengcheng First Launch Satellite and Pengcheng South Ke-1 Satellite into orbit, and the satellite successfully entered the predetermined orbit. It is a very advanced "synaesthesia intelligent computing" integrated technology verification satellite, which was jointly developed by Galaxy Aerospace, Pengcheng Laboratory, South University of Science and Technology, National Key Laboratory of Satellite Internet and other units.
Simply put, 'synesthesia intelligent computing' refers to integrating communication, remote sensing perception, artificial intelligence, and computing power into a satellite. It weighs only about 150 kilograms, which is about the weight of two adults.
Despite its small size, it carries three "treasures" on its body:
The first thing is a 5G communication payload that can go up to the sky. Simply put, it means moving the 5G base stations on the ground, along with the core network "brain" that is usually placed in the computer room, onto the satellite. In the future, in places where there is no ground mobile phone signal, as long as a small terminal is connected to it, it can directly view the real-time information analyzed by the satellite just like scrolling through a phone normally.
The second item is the high-speed satellite ground laser communication payload. It's like pulling a laser made 'space fiber' between the satellite and the ground, with a speed of up to 100Gbps. The road is wide enough and the speed is fast enough for the massive data obtained by satellites in the sky to be transmitted.
The third thing is to equip satellites with "eyes" and "brains". It has a professional name called "Digital Retina in orbit Computing Payload", which allows satellites to view images and calculate results on their own.
For example, if you want to see if there is a fire in a certain area, the old method is to take a satellite image first, transmit the original image back to the ground, and then process it on the ground. Experts search for it one by one, and time is wasted on the "data transmission" process.
Now, after taking pictures in the sky, this satellite can identify the fire, estimate the range, and quickly transmit useful conclusions. To view high-definition images, simply retrieve them separately. Previously, it was "satellite photography and ground viewing", but now it is "satellite on-site assignment", which is the deep integration of satellite communication and intelligent remote sensing. More importantly, this is the first time in China that 5G base stations, core networks, satellite AI computing power, laser communication, and microwave communication have been combined into one satellite and launched into space.
Next, it will conduct multiple 6G cutting-edge technology tests in the sky to help explore China's next-generation communication technology, enabling the network to move from the ground to space and connect the air and ground into a network. In the future, our satellites will no longer be "functional machines" that only do one thing, but "space intelligent machines" that can communicate, observe, and think for themselves. From "one satellite for one purpose" to "one satellite for multiple purposes", this is an important track for the future satellite Internet. (Outlook New Era)