Google is preparing the first orbital hardware test for Project Suncatcher, its research effort exploring whether space could eventually host scalable artificial intelligence computing infrastructure.
A prototype satellite will carry Google Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission. Google developed the test with satellite company Planet to measure how the chips handle launch stresses, radiation and extreme temperatures in orbit.
Project Suncatcher is built around the idea that low Earth orbit could provide near-constant sunlight. Google says satellites there could generate up to eight times more solar power than comparable systems on Earth.
Before launch, engineers subjected the satellite to three-axis vibration testing. Google says a rocket trip to orbit can expose the spacecraft to acceleration loads of up to 10 times gravity, while individual components may experience forces reaching 50 to 100 g.
Radiation presents another challenge. Researchers tested Trillium TPUs at the University of California, Davis’s Crocker Nuclear Laboratory using a proton beam while running AI workloads.
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Initial results showed the chips could tolerate a total ionising radiation dose greater than the amount expected during a five-year space mission.
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Cooling will also require a different design because space provides no airflow. Google is testing heat pipes and radiators to remove heat from the processors in a vacuum.
The company’s next planned milestone comes in 2027, when two satellites are due to test high-bandwidth laser links between moving spacecraft.
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Google says such links would be needed if future satellite clusters were to share larger AI workloads in orbit.
Google is preparing Project Suncatcher’s first orbital hardware test to study whether its Tensor Processing Units can operate reliably in space.
