Google Puts AI Chips in Orbit for First Time

Google is pushing the boundaries of artificial intelligence (AI) and space exploration with its ambitious Project Suncatcher. The project involves launching a refrigerator-sized satellite called MVP, built in partnership with Planet, which will carry four Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to test their performance in orbit.

The TPUs are the same family of chips that power Google's Gemini AI system, but they'll run on solar energy instead of grid power. The MVP satellite will collect up to eight times more energy from the sun than a similar panel on Earth, making it an ideal candidate for testing AI hardware in space.

According to Travis Beals, senior director of Google's Paradigms of Intelligence team, the chips can withstand high levels of radiation and heat. However, they do need to be shut down periodically to dump excess heat into space, which is why they'll run in 15-minute bursts for now.

The project's ultimate goal is to create a data center in orbit that can rival the energy costs of a ground-based data center. Google estimates that this could happen by the mid-2030s, when launch prices fall below $200 per kilogram.

Google isn't alone in this endeavor; SpaceX has outlined plans for orbital AI data centers built with Nvidia technology, which could launch as early as 2027. Meanwhile, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman have also backed the idea of computing in orbit.