Google's AI Chips Blast Off Into Space for Historic Experiment

Google has successfully launched its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) into space aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission. The chips, which are designed to test the feasibility of large-scale AI computing in low-Earth orbit, have reached their destination and are now facing a series of challenges.

The current mission is not an orbital data center, but rather a prototype designed to determine whether Google's AI chips can withstand launch forces, radiation, and extreme heat. The company has previously estimated that if launch costs fall to around $200 per kilogram, the economics of powering computing infrastructure in space could approach those of terrestrial data centers.

Radiation, cooling, and networking are key challenges for Google's space-based AI ambitions. The company is testing its Trillium TPUs using a proton beam and has found that they can withstand radiation beyond what they would face during a five-year mission, although the attached high-bandwidth memory was more sensitive.

Planet Labs PBC (PL) built the spacecraft platform in partnership with Google. The company said it successfully made initial contact with Tanager-2, the Project Suncatcher prototype, and two SuperDoves and began the commissioning process. Planet expects to make contact with the remaining 16 SuperDoves that will deploy on the D-Orbit ION orbital transfer vehicle on schedule.