SpaceX Deploys Google AI Chips in Orbital Computing Experiment

SpaceX is set to launch a Falcon 9 rocket on October 1, carrying Planet Labs satellites into orbit. One of those satellites will be equipped with Google Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) as part of Project Suncatcher.

This Alphabet initiative aims to create reliable computing infrastructure for artificial intelligence in space. The solar-powered prototype is the first in-orbit test and will explore whether space can become a location for scalable machine-learning infrastructure.

The company estimates that satellites in low Earth orbit have almost constant access to sunlight, generating up to eight times more solar energy than on Earth.