(Yicai) Nov. 10 -- China has unveiled the Nebula Constellation Plan in Hefei, eastern Anhui province, aiming to build a space-ground peer space computing network and marking a critical step for the country's space cloud initiative as it moves from technical verification to industrial application.

The Nebula Constellation Plan was launched at a space cloud industry conference yesterday, with project operator Nebula Space Intelligence Technology starting operations on the same day. It builds on the Space Cloud initiative proposed by the Aerospace Information Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, seeking to coordinate the capabilities of various satellites, including remote sensing, communication, and computing power, to form a smart space-based information service system, achieving the transition from "functional single satellites" to "intelligent star clouds."

Space-ground peer means space-based computing nodes become equal in status to ground computing resources, enabling coordinated and complementary functions. Under these conditions, users can access space computing resources as conveniently as ground cloud resources.

"Users don't need to know where the satellite is, where the computing power is, or where the payload is," Wu Yirong, an academician at the Chinese Academy of Sciences and academic director of the AIRCAS, told reporters. "They only need to submit service requests to receive corresponding services, with the entire computing scheduling process completed in space."

Nebula Space Intelligence, with a registered capital of CNY1.5 billion (USD223.3 million), was jointly set up by six industrial entities, CAS Investment Development under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, central state-owned enterprises, local state-owned enterprises in Anhui and Hefei, and affiliated investment funds.

The six industrial partners cover the full supply chain of the space-based information service system from construction to application. Hygon Information Technology will supply domestically developed high-end computing chips for the project, Dawning Information Industry will provide server hardware and intelligent computing infrastructure, StarMap TT&C will deliver satellite tracking, telemetry, and command services, Sugon Data Energy will offer thermal management support for computing infrastructure, Zhongke Satellite Technology Group will undertake the construction and operation of the sensing-computing constellation, and Geovis Technology will process satellite data and deliver various space information products and services.

Hefei hosts more than 190 commercial space firms and institutions, with a supply chain exceeding CNY10 billion (USD1.5 billion), while also featuring a thriving computing industry. Nebula Space Intelligence can fully leverage local computing resources to advance the Nebula Constellation Plan.

Nebula Space Intelligence plans to adopt a full-stack indigenous tech route, developing space computing chips, space-borne computers, inter-satellite high-speed links, and a space-ground resource scheduling platform under the Nebula Constellation Plan. By forming a complete indigenous tech system and standards, the company will develop low-power, high-performance, highly reliable on-orbit computing solutions tailored to the complex space environment.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev