China's lead in orbital data centres risks leaving Europe behind

China's push into orbital data centres risks leaving Europe behind, according to a new policy brief from the European Space Policy Institute (ESPI).

Orbital data centres are increasingly seen as key strategic assets for processing the vast amounts of data generated by AI and satellite systems.

The brief, titled "Constellating Compute: China's Domestic Policy Towards Orbital Data Centre Leadership," warns that if the technological gap widens significantly, Europe risks having to compute its own space data through third-party actors and losing access to orbital information.

European efforts are under way but remain limited in scale.

The EU-funded research project ASCEND, backed under Horizon Europe since 2023, found that orbital data centres could strengthen European digital sovereignty.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has also worked with UK firm Open Cosmos on the Φ-sat-2 satellite, which carries AI capabilities for Earth observation.

French start-up ALATYR has also announced plans to manufacture robotically assembled orbital data centres. Even so, compared with developments in China and the US, the gap in Europe is starting to widen.

Why is China ahead in the orbital data centre race?

China has treated space-based computing as a national strategic priority, giving rise to a wave of state-backed initiatives and policies to support the goal.

Central to this effort is the state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), which first formalised orbital data centres in a new strategy, alongside the Beijing Municipal Government and the Zhongguancun Science Park.

China has combined top-down policy drafting, private and state-owned industry adaptation, municipal and provincial government incentives, and support for non-state actors and working groups, according to the brief.

High-profile prototype constellations have driven early implementation. The Three-Body Constellation, launched by start-up ADAspace in May 2025, marked the first operational example of space-based computing.

In a joint laboratory with Shanghai Jiao Tong University, ADAspace has since used the constellation's in-orbit computing power to control a robot on the ground, one of several technical trials the company has run since the satellites reached orbit.

Other companies have followed. Beijing Orbital Twilight Technology Co., Ltd. (Orbital Chenguang) announced an undisclosed equity round alongside €7.4bn worth of debt financing in April 2026.

Nayuta Space unveiled its ALAYA supercompute constellation, planned to deploy 12,500 computing satellites. Shanghai Xingshu Tiansuan Space Technology Co. unveiled its Xingshu Plan at the World AI Conference in July 2026, envisioned to grow to 1,000 satellites.

China Mobile, Zhejiang Lab, Bailing Aerospace, Zhongke Tiansuan Technology and Interstellar Glory Space-Based Computing Technology (iSpace) have also announced their own constellations.

Beijing's municipal government has moved to incubate the sector further, issuing a call for orbital data centre project proposals in June 2026 alongside the Zhongguancun Science Park, and launching a space computing innovation centre bringing together rival companies including GalaxySpace and Landspace under a company-plus-alliance model.

According to state broadcaster CGTN, the centre's priority areas include space-based computing chip design, high-performance computing payloads and integrated space-ground cloud computing technologies.

CASC has also outlined a five-year plan for the sector, agreed with the Chinese Society of Astronautics in January 2026 under the guidance of state bodies including the China National Space Administration.

According to CGTN's reporting on the plan, it includes building gigawatt-level space digital infrastructure combining cloud, edge and terminal technologies, though the underlying policy documents do not appear to have been formally published, and Euronews could not independently verify the claims.

The brief recommends that the EU establish coordinated political guidance, investment support and a regulatory framework for orbital data centre development, that a flagship initiative be included in the Horizon Europe Moonshot Projects under the 2028-2034 Multiannual Financial Framework, and that European space actors convene working groups with international counterparts on standards and data sovereignty.

Reporting from euronews contributed to this story.