Google to test its TPU chips in orbit aboard SpaceX Transporter-18 mission
Google's Project Suncatcher will send a prototype satellite to space to see whether its AI chips can operate there, a step toward hosting machine learning infrastructure off Earth.
What we know
- Google said in a post on X that it is launching a satellite to evaluate whether and how its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) hold up in orbit. [2]
- CEO Sundar Pichai wrote on X that the prototype satellite will fly on SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission and was built in partnership with Planet. [1]
- The test is part of Project Suncatcher, which Google described as its latest moonshot. [2]
- Google said the mission is meant to gather data on how machine learning infrastructure could one day be hosted in space. [2]
- Not yet confirmed: The sources do not give a launch date, the number of TPUs on board, the satellite's orbit, or how long the test will run. They also do not say what results would count as success or whether further missions are planned.
Google said it is sending its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) into space to test whether they can operate in orbit. The company announced the plan in posts on X on Thursday. [2][3]
Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, wrote on X that the company is going to find out whether its TPUs can "survive and operate in space." Pichai said Project Suncatcher will ride on SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission. The test uses a prototype satellite built in partnership with Planet. [1]
Google described the effort as the result of years of research. In its own post, the company said the satellite is intended to evaluate if and how the chips hold up in orbit. [2]
The mission is part of Project Suncatcher, which Google called its latest moonshot. Google said the test is designed to collect data on how machine learning infrastructure might eventually be hosted in space. [2]
A later Google post said the project is "scheduled to embark on its first test in orbit." The post linked to a page explaining the science behind the project. The contents of that page were not part of the material available for this report. [3]
The sources do not say when the launch will take place, how many chips will fly, or what orbit the satellite will use.
RECEIPTS · 3 SOURCES
- 1POST ON X · @sundarpichai (Sundar Pichai)Can our TPUs survive and operate in space? Well, we're going to find out. Project Suncatcher is hitching a ride aboard @SpaceX's TransporterOpen source ↗ Archived copy
- 2POST ON X · @Google (Google)We’re sending TPUs to space (yes, really). After years of research, we’re launching a satellite to evaluate if and how Google Tensor ProcessOpen source ↗ Archived copy
- 3POST ON X · @Google (Google)After years of research, Project Suncatcher is scheduled to embark on its first test in orbit, launching a prototype satellite to evaluate hOpen source ↗ Archived copy