The institute plans to build a constellation of 16 centralized space data centers in a dawn-dusk orbit 700 to 800 kilometers above Earth. The orbit would allow near-continuous access to solar power, supplying an estimated 16 gigawatts to the network.

Zhang said development will unfold in three stages. From 2025 to 2027, the team will test key technologies needed to power and cool computers in orbit, and several trial computing satellites and data-relay satellites will be launched. Computing capacity is expected to grow as more satellites join the network.

The second stage, from 2028 to 2030, will focus on reducing the cost of space-based computing so it becomes comparable to running data centers on the ground.

The final stage, from 2031 to 2035, aims to build much larger orbital facilities powered by vast amounts of solar energy that could one day support the training and operation of advanced AI systems directly in space.