Google Sends AI Chips Into Space for Harsh Environment Testing

Google has sent its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) into space for the first time as part of Project Suncatcher, a moonshot effort to determine whether large-scale AI computing can be moved into low-Earth orbit.

The TPUs were launched aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission and will be tested against radiation, extreme heat, and launch conditions. Google partnered with Planet Labs PBC to develop the spacecraft platform.

Project Suncatcher is not an orbital data center but rather a prototype designed to determine whether Google's AI chips can withstand the harsh space environment for various applications.

Google has three big problems to solve: radiation, cooling, and networking. The company previously tested its Trillium TPUs using a proton beam and found that they could withstand radiation beyond what they would face during a five-year mission, although the attached high-bandwidth memory was more sensitive.