Google says its first space-based data center satellite is online

In short: Google says its Suncatcher prototype satellite is now online, and it has already run an AI model in orbit.

What happened

Google’s Suncatcher prototype, described as a “space data center,” is communicating with the ground after launching earlier this month on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Google says the satellite carries four TPUs, which are Google-made computer chips designed to run AI. Think of them like specialized engines that are good at one kind of math-heavy work.

After about three weeks of checkout tests, engineers sent the first prompt to the satellite this week. The AI model loaded on board is Google DeepMind’s Gemma 4, and Google asked it to write a haiku about being in space. The satellite responded with a short poem, and Google also asked it to report on conditions around it in orbit.

Google said the satellite generates up to 1 kilowatt of electricity, but the TPUs use enough power that it can only run one chip for about 20 minutes at a time. That makes communication harder, since the satellite has limited time to do work and send results back.

A big goal of this test is to see how the chips handle heat stress and space radiation. Radiation can cause “bit flips,” which is when a tiny piece of stored data changes by accident (like a single letter in a document switching without anyone noticing). Google says the spacecraft is operating normally.

Why it matters

AI usually runs in large buildings full of computers on Earth. Testing AI hardware in space could eventually support satellites that process data in orbit, instead of sending everything back to the ground first. Google says the next step, if this works, could be two more satellites in 2027 with more power and optical links between satellites.

Source: TechCrunch AI