A Review of Space Computing: Historical Development and Intelligent Evolution Trends

With the increasing complexity of space missions, the requirements for real-time processing and onboard computational capability continue to intensify, driving the evolution of space computing toward intelligent paradigms. This article presents a concise review of the development of space computing, spanning from the launch of Sputnik-1 in 1957 to recent visions of space-based foundation models and space supercomputing systems. Key technologies and performance indicators—including semiconductor process technologies, system architectures, and core computational capability—are examined to illustrate their successive generations of advancement. The evolutionary trends of on-board computers are analyzed from both mission-driven demands and technological progression perspectives. To address harsh space environments characterized by radiation effects and extreme thermal variations, redundancy-based fault-tolerant computing techniques and thermal management technologies for ensuring robust system operation are reviewed. Finally, this article envisions that space computing is advancing toward distributed computing constellation networks and space supercomputing centers, facing emerging challenges in energy efficiency and system reliability. Space computing is thereby becoming a critical pillar of space infrastructure, progressively forming a multidimensional integrated framework of space-based sensing, networking, and computing.