As part of its course toward technological independence, China has successfully completed space tests of the Dalian-1 Lianli microsatellite, which operates under the control of the domestic OpenHarmony RTOS operating system. The spacecraft, launched from China’s Tiangong space station last year, spent more than 1,000 hours testing key onboard subsystems — a magnetometer, solar sensor, and orientation unit — demonstrating stability and speed, achieving a delay of only 2 microseconds between command and response.
According to researchers from Dalian and Xian universities, the use of OpenHarmony increased the frequency of data updates and enabled the use of less powerful hardware, which is important for miniature satellites. A comparison with previous software, which was based on foreign firmware, showed a significant increase in energy efficiency and reliability. In addition, Lianli became the first vehicle to combine its own operating system and domestic processor, making the platform completely independent from third-party manufacturers.
The government and industry consider this success a step toward reducing the risks caused by Western sanctions and restrictions on electronics exports. The mission team has already proposed national standards for integrating OpenHarmony into CubeSats, paving the way for the OS to be used in scientific, commercial, and educational projects.
A proprietary open-source operating system gives Chinese (and potentially international) developers the ability to fine-tune software for specific scientific instruments. Microsecond response times and complete control over the hardware enable improved telemetry accuracy and data quality, which is particularly valuable for astrophysical experiments, microspectrometers, and space weather research instruments. This will accelerate the development of cheaper but smarter satellite platforms, simplifying the launch of experiments to study the Solar System and the distant Universe.
China’s success with OpenHarmony in orbit demonstrates how critical it has become in modern space strategy for countries to possess their own technologies — from processors to operating systems. However, it is not only Beijing that is increasing its autonomy: Europe is also actively joining this global race, accelerating the development of its own launch vehicles, navigation systems, and satellite services in order to close the gap with the US. Read our article “Space race: how Europe is catching up with the US” to find out exactly how the EU plans to catch up with the leaders and what projects are already underway.
