China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology announced on Thursday that the country plans to establish "millisecond computing" in metropolitan areas to provide millisecond-level access to computing resources within the city domain. By 2027, an extensive, efficient, and fully-covered urban millisecond computational network capability system is expected to be largely established in key regions, the ministry said.
By that time, interconnection delays between computing centers within these metropolitan areas will be reduced to under 1 millisecond. Meanwhile, access latency between critical sites, including factories, industrial parks, and hospitals, and computing centers will also achieve sub-1 millisecond performance.
According to a notice issued by the ministry, this plan aims to advance the construction of millisecond-level computing networks nationwide in a phased manner, enhance the computing experience, and empower the development of artificial intelligence and new industrialization.
China launches special campaign for 'millisecond computing' in metropolitan areas
The Shenzhou-23 crewed space mission conducted its last comprehensive practice before launch on Friday, completing function checks of all systems and other preparation work.
The combination of the spaceship and a Long March-2F carrier rocket was transported to the launch site last Saturday and is scheduled for launch in the coming days, with all facilities and equipment at the launch site in good condition, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).
Carried out by the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the Xi'an Satellite Control Center, and various control stations under the coordination of the Beijing Aerospace Flight Control Center, the drill simulated all stages of the launch mission, including pre-launch preparations, liftoff, climb, and the in-orbit phase.
"The joint practice is to test the system's communication links, command capability, equipment, and personnel. Based on the current progress, everything is normal. What's going on in parallel is a full-system gas leak detection," He said.
The rehearsal validated the reliability of key systems, including the rocket, the spaceship, the launch site, the control and communication equipment, and the coordination between different systems. It also verified the functionality and technical status of the Shenzhou-23 spacecraft-rocket combination.
"The Shenzhou-23 spaceship is in the third batch of spacecraft after the completion of the construction of the space station. It incorporates many new quality control measures, and its payload transport capacity, reliability, and safety have all been significantly improved," said Li Zhe, an employee of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation.
With all facilities in good condition, the Jiuquan launch site will later conduct rocket propellant filling and launch operations.
Search and recovery drills are also underway at the landing site, in preparation for the return of the Shenzhou-21 crew.
Shenzhou-23 crewed spaceship ready for launch
