Zhongke-14 and -15 SAR satellites reach orbit with onboard computing and minute-level image processing
The two 360 kg SAR satellites launched on 25 August aboard a Long March 6C were built by GalaxySpace for Zhongke Satellite and can receive, compute and interpret data on board.
At 11:21 on 25 August, a Long March 6C launched seven satellites from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, including Zhongke-14 and Zhongke-15. According to Cover News, the two satellites were built by GalaxySpace for use by Zhongke Satellite; each weighs 360 kg and carries a high-resolution SAR payload and a space cloud-computing payload, integrating onboard data reception, computing and analysis so that images can be processed and interpreted within minutes in emergencies such as floods and earthquakes. The two satellites will join SAR satellites already in orbit. The same launch carried Muyao-1 A/B, the Jing'an Zhuimeng satellite, Bayi-04 and the Lingzhi-09 Thailand cubesat.
SAR satellites work regardless of cloud, rain or darkness; moving computation on board bypasses the 'downlink first, process later' bottleneck of ground links and shortens emergency response times. GalaxySpace built three satellites on this launch, extending its business from communications satellites into SAR remote sensing and whole-satellite exports.
Our take: the value of onboard computing in commercial remote sensing depends on two things — whether it can reliably handle the processing load of high-resolution SAR, and whether paying customers will pay for minute-level response. The Zhongke pair is an engineering validation; the pricing and customers of the in-orbit data service that follows are what will show how commercial this really is.