Google plans an Oct. 1 launch of an experimental satellite carrying its TPUs and solar panels to test simple AI queries in orbit—the first concrete step by a major tech company toward orbital data centers. The satellite is expected to operate for a year.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 will carry the satellite, which is designed to have the computing power of one data-center server and use 1 kilowatt of solar power. Google will test whether the TPUs withstand launch forces and work amid solar events, cosmic rays and radiation; engineers also need a way to cool them without airflow.
Project Suncatcher is Google's long-term research into whether satellite constellations can support AI workloads. Google researchers believe satellites could generate eight times as much solar power as Earth-based panels because they receive near-constant sunlight. Senior vice president James Manyika said the company is in early testing and does not expect anything usefully operational in the next few years.
