Google to Launch AI Chips into Orbit Next Week
Google will send its own AI chips into orbit for the first time next week, in the inaugural flight test of Project Suncatcher. A prototype satellite built in collaboration with Planet will assess the viability of Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in the unique environment of space, subjecting them to launch stresses, radiation, and extreme temperatures.
Suncatcher, announced last November, envisions AI computing powered by satellite clusters. Google posits that low Earth orbit satellites can harness up to eight times the solar power available on Earth.
The satellite's hardware has successfully undergone rigorous testing on terra firma. Shaking simulations replicated the intense forces experienced during launch, while proton beam tests at UC Davis’s Crocker Nuclear Laboratory simulated exposure to radiation, revealing that the chips endured a total dose exceeding that expected over a five-year mission.
Cooling presents a challenge in the vacuum of space, requiring a mix of heat pipes and radiators tested successfully on Earth. The next phase, scheduled for 2027, involves testing laser communication links between clusters of TPU-equipped satellites, a collaboration with Planet.
Google faces significant cost hurdles, as launch prices need to drop below $200 per kilogram for space computing to be economically viable.
Ana-Maria Stanciuc, Editor-in-Chief at TNW, offers a broader perspective on the implications of this venture:
I am the Editor in Chief for TNW, covering technology not as a parade of launches and valuations, but as a system of influence, persuasion, and change. I write about startups, venture capital, digital policy, and Europe's ecosystem, focusing on the underlying narratives that shape the future.
Source:
Google will launch its first AI chips into orbit next week (TNW, 2026)