Google Tests AI Chip Performance in Orbit with Project Suncatcher

Google is launching a prototype satellite next week as part of its Project Suncatcher initiative. The mission aims to test the performance of Google's Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) in low Earth orbit, where they will be exposed to physical stresses, radiation, and thermal extremes.

The TPUs will be sent aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare launch, developed in partnership with Planet Labs. The project explores the possibility of using interconnected constellations of solar-powered satellites for large-scale AI computing.

Google believes that satellites in low Earth orbit can tap near-continuous sunlight and produce up to eight times more solar power than on Earth. This could enable the handling of increasingly large AI workloads, with multiple constellations linked together over time.

The engineering challenges are significant, including surviving launch, radiation, and heat management. Google has already simulated launch conditions by shaking a satellite along three axes at rocket frequencies. The initial findings suggest that TPUs can tolerate a total ionising radiation dose exceeding what they would accumulate over five years in orbit.