China's Tien Kung Humanoid Links Directly to Satellite During Beijing Delivery Test

A certificate delivery with a connection to orbit

On January 23, 2026, the Embodied Tien Kung humanoid robot retrieved a certificate from an unmanned vehicle in Beijing and delivered it to a building while sending 720p video and movement data through a GalaxySpace satellite. The robot carried out the task without relying on cellular towers, Wi-Fi or local internet infrastructure.

X-Humanoid, which developed the robot at the Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics, described the demonstration as the world's first instance of a humanoid maintaining a stable satellite connection while performing autonomous physical operations. The test took place during the 3rd Beijing Commercial Space Industry High Quality Development Promotion Conference.

The achievement brought together two demanding tasks: moving and handling an object in an outdoor setting, and keeping a communication link with a spacecraft hundreds of kilometers above Earth. Operators received live information about what the robot could see and how it was moving while the delivery was underway.

Satellite internet has long promised connections in remote places. Adding that capability to humanoid robots could allow machines to work in disaster zones, distant mines and offshore facilities while human supervisors monitor them from elsewhere. The immediate achievement was a public demonstration; its practical appeal is the prospect of deploying a robot where local communication networks are missing or damaged.

China has identified commercial space activity and advanced robotics as priorities for future economic competitiveness. The Beijing test showed how those sectors can work together, combining artificial intelligence, physical robotics and aerospace engineering in an integration that has been difficult for research teams internationally. It also presented a public example of China's growing capabilities in both robotics and space technology.

How the robot completed its mission

Organizers chose a delivery scenario centered on a symbolic Joint Project Completion Acceptance Certificate. The robot's assignment was to collect it from an unmanned vehicle and take it to a representative at a newly constructed aerospace industrial park in suburban Beijing.

A driverless vehicle first traveled autonomously from a government service center to Rocket Avenue, a newly completed road in Beijing's Economic and Technological Development Area. The satellite connection depended on the arrival of a GalaxySpace internet satellite overhead.

Embodied Tien Kung identified the best communication window, performed system checks and established contact with the satellite. Timing mattered because satellites in low Earth orbit move rapidly across the sky. A satellite is visible from a particular location for only a limited period before continuing along its orbit.

The robot then approached the vehicle, collected the certificate and carried it to the destination building. Throughout the operation, it transmitted a live 720p feed from its camera facing forward, together with telemetry. Telemetry means measurements sent from a machine to its operators; here, those measurements included joint movements and position information.

The video and data traveled to the satellite and back to a command center almost instantaneously during the demonstration. Operators could follow the task through both the robot's own view and an external view, giving them information about the delivery and the machine's physical movements at the same time.

Smartphones and computers also connected to the same satellite network alongside the humanoid. The demonstration showed multiple devices maintaining connections without a reported decline in performance. That arrangement points toward a possible future deployment in which robots and human supervisors share satellite infrastructure to coordinate work beyond the reach of conventional internet networks.

The antenna technology behind the connection

GalaxySpace supplied a new generation of internet satellite equipped with phased array flat panel antenna technology. A phased array steers a radio beam electronically, unlike a traditional dish that must physically turn to point in the right direction.

Electronic steering is useful when a robot changes position and orientation during a task. A humanoid walking toward a vehicle or turning toward a building needs its communications system to keep tracking the connection as it moves. Maintaining that signal is part of making satellite access useful for mobile machines.

Low Earth orbit satellites typically operate at altitudes between 500 and 2,000 kilometers. Traditional geostationary satellites sit much farther away, at 35,786 kilometers. The shorter distance reduces latency, the delay between sending information and receiving a response.

At low Earth orbit distances, the signal's round trip can take mere milliseconds, helping support the near real time transmission demonstrated in Beijing. Geostationary satellite internet involves more noticeable delays because signals must travel much farther.

The tradeoff is movement. A low Earth orbit satellite passes quickly relative to a location on the ground, creating a brief opportunity for contact. Continuous service therefore depends on having multiple satellites arranged in a constellation, or on timing an operation to match the period when a satellite is accessible.

The Beijing delivery used that timing deliberately: the robot checked its systems and established contact as the GalaxySpace satellite passed overhead. Its connection was part of the task sequence, alongside approaching the vehicle, collecting the certificate and delivering it.

What operating without a local network means

Embodied Tien Kung did not need cellular or Wi-Fi infrastructure at the demonstration site. The satellite network still connects to ground stations elsewhere to route information to command centers. The useful change is removing the need for terrestrial internet at the robot's location.

A remote work site could therefore use satellite communication even when it has no nearby mobile tower or fiber connection, provided there is clear access to the sky. Human supervisors could receive the robot's observations through a command center far from the work itself.

Emergency responders and military operators could find that capability useful in areas where infrastructure has been destroyed. A robot could enter such an area while maintaining contact with a command center thousands of kilometers away, sending video and movement information to help supervisors follow the situation.

The January demonstration linked local autonomy with remote oversight. The robot performed a physical assignment while operators received information about its progress. That combination matters for tasks in places where a machine must act locally but people still need a continuing view of its condition and surroundings.

Where satellite connected humanoids could work

Remote mines are one possible setting for the technology. Humanoid robots could conduct inspections and maintenance without an operator first building extensive local communication infrastructure. Satellite access could connect the machines to supervisors even when the mine is far from an established network.

Disaster response presents another use. After an earthquake or flood, damaged ground networks can make communication difficult just when rescue teams need reliable information. A satellite connected humanoid could be sent to search for survivors or assess structural damage while transmitting images to rescue coordinators.

Deploying a machine without first installing communication towers or fiber optic cables could reduce the cost and complexity of providing robotic assistance during a crisis. The proposed value lies in pairing physical work with continuing visual contact, allowing coordinators to follow what the robot encounters.

Offshore oil platforms and ships at sea also face limited connectivity options. Humanoids could perform maintenance, inspections or cargo handling while onshore specialists monitor them through satellite links. Such work could reduce the amount of time people spend in hazardous conditions.

Scientific exploration offers similar possibilities. Researchers working in polar regions, deserts or mountainous terrain could use robots to collect information in places where fieldwork carries risks to personal safety and conventional networks are unavailable.

These applications share a practical requirement: a machine must do useful work at a difficult location while keeping people informed elsewhere. The Beijing certificate delivery demonstrated that combination on a limited task. Mining, rescue, maritime work and field research would place different demands on the robot's movement, endurance and communications.

A connection to ambitions in space

Engine AI has announced plans to send its PM01 humanoid robot into space through a partnership with Beijing Interstellar Human Spaceflight Technology. The proposed mission could make PM01 the first humanoid astronaut.

Satellite connectivity is a stepping stone toward ambitions of that kind because it demonstrates communication outside the reach of conventional local networks. Space missions would also require robots to operate in vacuum, microgravity, extreme temperature changes and intense radiation, conditions very different from an outdoor delivery in Beijing.

Robust communications would be necessary in those environments, where conventional local networking is unavailable. The Tien Kung demonstration addressed the connection between a robot on Earth and an orbiting satellite, while Engine AI's plan concerns sending a humanoid into space itself.

China's expanding humanoid market

Counterpoint Research put global humanoid robot sales at approximately 16,000 units in 2025, with the vast majority sold in China. The market grew 508% from the previous year and reached a value of about $440 million.

A rise of 508% means sales became roughly six times their previous level. The figures describe a sector expanding quickly from a relatively small base, with Chinese companies accounting for most of the units sold.

Chinese manufacturers have pursued heavy investment, rapid changes to their products and vertical integration. Vertical integration means bringing more stages of development and production under a company's own control. Those approaches resemble the strategies that helped transform China's electric vehicle industry.

Beijing has made humanoid robotics a strategic priority. The Beijing Innovation Center of Humanoid Robotics is a hub for coordinating research and development, and Tien Kung is one of several Chinese platforms competing for domestic and international customers.

Tesla's Optimus attracts substantial attention in Western media, while Chinese manufacturers currently lead in actual deployment numbers. Projections suggest humanoid sales could exceed 100,000 units by 2027. Compared with the approximately 16,000 sold globally in 2025, that would represent more than six times as many units.

Government support and private innovation have contributed to a substantial Chinese supply chain for robotic components and artificial intelligence systems. That industrial setting helps explain why companies are testing humanoids beyond indoor demonstrations, including tasks that require outdoor movement and new forms of communication.

GalaxySpace has been developing phased array technologies and low Earth orbit constellations intended to provide global internet coverage. Combining those space assets with robots on the ground allows developments in one sector to support the other. The approach recalls the broader technological advances driven by earlier space race investment, although the applications described here focus on commercial opportunities on Earth and in near space.

From 134 outdoor steps to satellite communication

Tien Kung's January satellite demonstration followed another claimed world first in February 2025. During that earlier test, the robot climbed 134 outdoor steps to reach the summit of Haizi Wall Park in Beijing.

The climb required the machine to handle uneven terrain, differences in step height, wind and changing light. It demonstrated locomotion outside a controlled laboratory, where surfaces and environmental conditions are less predictable.

X-Humanoid's two demonstrations tested different parts of the same platform. The outdoor climb addressed balance, movement and adaptation to terrain. The satellite delivery addressed communication resilience, precise timing and carrying out a task without local network infrastructure.

The sequence illustrates the platform's development over less than a year:

• February 2025: Tien Kung climbed 134 outdoor steps at Haizi Wall Park in Beijing, handling varied terrain and environmental conditions.
• January 23, 2026: Embodied Tien Kung maintained a GalaxySpace satellite connection while collecting and delivering a certificate during the Beijing commercial space conference.

X-Humanoid's focus on outdoor trials suggests a development strategy aimed at difficult operating conditions as well as indoor factory work. The stair climb required sophisticated balance algorithms and terrain adaptation; the satellite task required communication protocols and coordination with an orbital pass.

Competitive pressure within China's robotics market, together with substantial government and private investment, forms the setting for that pace of development. Combining stronger movement with communication that does not depend on a local network points toward robots that could eventually deploy more readily without established roads, networks or facilities.

What wider deployment still requires

Continuous satellite coverage is one of the largest remaining requirements. Low Earth orbit networks need constellations containing hundreds or thousands of spacecraft to provide continuous global connections. Current coverage can be intermittent because of satellite movement.

A robot could lose contact during an operation unless another satellite takes over or a system stores information and forwards it when a connection returns. The Beijing test used a planned communication window; routine work would require arrangements for periods when a particular satellite is no longer visible.

No timetable was given for widespread deployment of satellite connected Tien Kung robots. Their prospects depend on resolving coverage, power and communication constraints as well as showing that they can perform useful tasks reliably outside a demonstration.

Battery life is another constraint. Humanoid robots already consume substantial energy while moving and manipulating objects. Satellite equipment and the processing needed to transmit high definition video add to that demand.

Future deployments would need better battery technology, a tethered power supply or charging facilities at the work site that robots can use autonomously. The appropriate arrangement would depend on whether the machine must travel freely or can operate near a power source.

Latency and bandwidth also limit what human supervisors can do remotely. Bandwidth is the amount of data a connection can carry. Even with the shorter delays of low Earth orbit networks, tasks requiring precise manipulation or very rapid reactions could exceed current communication capabilities.

Satellite data transmission remains more expensive than terrestrial alternatives. Early uses may therefore center on valuable tasks where the costs of communication are outweighed by reduced human risk or avoided travel. Reliable coverage, adequate operating time and useful physical performance will all affect whether a satellite connected humanoid is practical for a particular job.

The Bottom Line

• On January 23, 2026, Embodied Tien Kung completed a certificate delivery in Beijing while maintaining a direct link with a GalaxySpace low Earth orbit satellite.
• X-Humanoid described the demonstration as the world's first stable satellite connection maintained by a humanoid during autonomous physical operations.
• The robot sent 720p video, joint movement data and position information without relying on local cellular or Wi-Fi infrastructure.
• Smartphones and computers connected to the same satellite network during the test.
• The satellite system still uses ground stations elsewhere to route data to command centers.
• Potential uses include disaster response, remote mining, offshore work, maritime operations and scientific exploration.
• The test followed Tien Kung's climb of 134 outdoor steps in Beijing in February 2025.
• Global humanoid sales reached approximately 16,000 units in 2025, mostly in China, with market growth of 508% and a value of about $440 million.
• Continuous coverage, battery demands, latency, bandwidth and communication costs remain challenges for wider deployment.