Google's Project Suncatcher puts AI chips in orbit

Google's Project Suncatcher prototype satellite is in orbit as of October 1. It was built with Planet and launched on SpaceX Transporter-18 with 4 TPUs on board. Contact with the satellite has been confirmed.

Why orbit?

The long-term moonshot is orbital AI data centers. In a sun-synchronous orbit, solar panels can produce up to about eight times more power than on the ground.

What happens now

For now, Gemma runs for about 15 minutes at a time while Google tests how the hardware copes with heat, radiation and launch stress. Two more satellites are planned for 2027 to test laser links. The research is peer reviewed and published in Joule.