Google orbits AI with Suncatcher satellite
google launched a satellite with a tensor processing unit that ran a gemma 4 model to write poetry, testing ai in space for future orbital data centers.
google's suncatcher prototype space data center, carrying a single google tensor processing unit, is online and communicating with the ground after launching on a spacex falcon 9 rocket earlier this month. the satellite generates up to 1 kw of electricity and is intended to pave the way for future networks of close-flying satellites performing large inference workloads in orbit. due to power demands, the tpu can only operate for about twenty minutes at a time. google tested the gemma 4 model pre-loaded onto the satellite by asking it to write a haiku about being in space. the ongoing test campaign will examine how tpus perform under thermal stress and in the space radiation environment. if successful, google plans to launch two more satellites equipped with advanced chips in 2027.