Google Launches First AI-Powered Satellite as Part of Project Suncatcher

Google is set to launch its first satellite equipped with AI chips as part of Project Suncatcher, an initiative aimed at developing computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence in space. The satellite, roughly the size of a refrigerator, will carry four Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and solar panels that provide about 1 kW of power.

The main mission objective is to determine whether Google's standard AI accelerators can function after rocket launch and under radiation and vacuum conditions. Before launch, engineers subjected the satellite to vibration tests along three axes to simulate flight stresses. The TPUs were separately tested with a proton beam at the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.

The current prototype has a significant limitation: the TPUs can operate continuously for about 15 minutes before needing to be shut down for cooling. Google expects to operate the satellite for about a year; it can remain in orbit for up to six years before deorbiting and burning up in the atmosphere.