Google will launch Project Suncatcher, an experimental orbital data center with four TPUs and 1,000W solar capacity, into orbit on October 1.

Google will launch its AI chips into orbit for the first time next week as Project Suncatcher, its space data center program, takes another step forward. The company will conduct its first orbital test by launching a prototype satellite to evaluate how its Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) AI hardware performs in space.

Project Suncatcher, first revealed last year, aims to have a two-satellite constellation operational by 2027 as part of a broader wave of space data center initiatives. Companies including SpaceX and Blue Origin have both signaled this year that they are seeking regulatory approval for orbital compute clusters.

The initial deployment will launch aboard the Transporter-18 rideshare mission on October 1, a SpaceX vehicle carrying spacecraft from multiple vendors to low Earth orbit. Google developed the system in partnership with satellite firm Planet Labs.

The test craft, called MVP, will carry just four TPUs powered by solar panels supplying 1 kilowatt. Travis Beals, Google's senior director for paradigms of intelligence, outlined the engineering challenges the team has tackled to prepare compute infrastructure for the space environment.

To counter the vibrations and g-forces experienced during launch and in orbit, the Suncatcher team conducted vibration testing on all three axes to simulate rocket launch frequencies. "Tests like this rarely go as planned, so we were pleasantly surprised that the hardware held up to the force," Beals said. The TPUs were also tested in a proton beam facility at UC Davis's Crocker Nuclear Laboratory while running AI workloads, simulating exposure to the high radiation levels beyond Earth's atmosphere. "Initial results have shown that our Trillium TPUs hold up remarkably well, and can survive a radiation total ionizing dose greater than what they would receive during a five-year space mission," Beals said.

Heat dissipation presents a unique challenge in space, where the vacuum offers no atmosphere for airflow. Google is developing several cooling approaches, including heat pipes and radiators. The team has tested these systems in a thermal vacuum chamber simulating the space environment and plans to refine designs based on orbital performance.

Google envisions 1-kilometer arrays of 81-satellite compute clusters connected via laser links. "The technology in space already exists, but most state-of-the-art systems are optimized for low bandwidth across large distances, whereas our lasers need to operate at very high bandwidth over extremely short distances," Beals explained. "Maintaining the necessary connection requires extraordinary precision, similar to hitting a coin-size target from miles away while both points are in motion. We'll test our work on this in 2027 when we put two satellites in orbit."