Alphabet’s Google plans its first in-orbit test for Project Suncatcher, a research initiative exploring whether large-scale AI computing infrastructure could operate in space.
The company plans to launch a prototype satellite next week on a SpaceX Transporter-18 rideshare mission. The test will assess how Google’s custom Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) withstand launch forces and space radiation.
The mission aims to gather data on the chips’ performance and reliability in orbit. The long-term vision is to use near-continuous sunlight in space to power energy-intensive AI computing, potentially easing the electricity constraints faced by data centers on Earth.