Towards Space-Based Computing Infrastructure Network: Development Trends, Network Architecture, Challenges Analysis, and Key Technologies

As one of the most promising hotspots in the 6G era, space remote sensing information networks play a key and irreplaceable role in areas such as emergency response and scientific research, and are expected to foster remote sensing data processing into the next generation of killer applications. However, due to the inability to deploy ground communication stations at scale and the limited data transmission window, the traditional model for transmitting space data back to ground stations faces significant challenges in terms of timeliness. To address this problem, we focus on the emerging paradigm of on-orbit space data processing, taking the first step toward building a space-based computing infrastructure network. Specifically, we propose a hierarchical space-based computing network architecture that integrates the space-based cloud constellation system, the remote sensing constellation system, the network operation control center, the orchestration data center and the user access portal, offering a detailed description of their functionalities. Next, we analyze three scientific challenges: the characterization and virtualization of multidimensional heterogeneous resources, the efficient orchestration of multidimensional heterogeneous resources for tasks with varying priorities, and the rapid sharing of multidimensional heterogeneous resources to address burst tasks or system failures. Finally, we discuss key technologies to address the aforementioned challenges and highlight promising research priorities for the future.