Google has launched the first prototype satellite for Project Suncatcher, its research initiative exploring the potential for solar-powered artificial intelligence computing infrastructure in space.
The satellite, built in partnership with Planet, was launched on Thursday from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission.
The experiment will test how Google’s Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) withstand the physical stresses of spaceflight, radiation and extreme thermal conditions, while also assessing cooling performance in the vacuum of space.
Project Suncatcher aims to explore whether scalable AI computing infrastructure could eventually operate in orbit using solar power, potentially paving the way for networks of satellites capable of handling AI workloads in space.
