China launches Supercomputing-1 satellite for on-orbit Earth observation processing

China launched nine satellites from Jiuquan, including Supercomputing-1 (S-AIDC-1) built by AI compute firm S-AIDC. The satellite analyzes imagery in orbit to pick the best shots for downlink and uses laser intersatellite links, cutting processing from hours to minutes.

• Launch took place September 20 on CAS Space's Kinetica 1 Y18 rocket
• S-AIDC-1 features laser intersatellite links (ISLs)
• S-AIDC was founded in 2024 and raised a Series A in May
• Processing time drops from hours to minutes, details undisclosed