China launches Supercomputing-1 satellite for in-orbit AI data processing

China's CAS Space launched the Kinetica 1 Y18 rocket on September 20, carrying nine satellites including the Supercomputing-1 (S-AIDC-1), built by S-AIDC. The satellite combines a high-resolution optical payload with an onboard AI computer to process Earth-observation data in orbit rather than transmitting raw data to ground-based data centers, reportedly cutting processing times from hours to minutes.