Google to test AI chips in orbit under Project Suncatcher

Google will send a prototype satellite into low Earth orbit next week, marking the first in-orbit trial of Project Suncatcher, a research effort examining whether space can host large-scale AI computing infrastructure.

The mission is scheduled to fly on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare launch in partnership with satellite company Planet Labs. Once in orbit, the satellite will carry Google's Tensor Processing Units and assess whether the AI chips can operate reliably beyond Earth's atmosphere.

The test will examine how the hardware withstands the forces of launch, space radiation and extreme temperature swings in low Earth orbit. Space radiation can disrupt or degrade electronics, sometimes producing data errors known as bit flips.

Google said it had already run AI workloads on its TPUs at a facility at the University of California, Davis, but that orbital testing was necessary to understand how the chips perform in the real space environment. The company will also evaluate a cooling design that pairs heat pipes with radiators, since conventional airflow cooling is impossible in the vacuum of space.

The first Suncatcher mission is intended to collect in-orbit data and identify potential failure points rather than demonstrate an operational orbital data centre. Google aims to launch two satellites in 2027 to test the high-bandwidth laser links that would connect future computing clusters.

Google is not alone in pursuing orbital computing. SpaceX and Starcloud are among the companies planning to deploy data centres in low Earth orbit, aiming to use near-continuous sunlight to power energy-intensive AI computing and avoid constraints on terrestrial electricity supplies.

Experts, however, have said the concept remains years away from commercial viability, citing high launch costs, engineering constraints and bottlenecks in satellite production.