THE CRUNCH
Google is preparing to launch a satellite equipped with its AI processors into low Earth orbit next week. The mission, known as Project Suncatcher, will see the satellite, carrying Google's Tensor Processing Units, blast off on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on October 1st. The primary goal is to test how well these chips handle the physical stress, radiation, and thermal extremes of space.
The satellite is part of Google's experimental Project Suncatcher, which aims to eventually place AI data centres in orbit. This hardware test is a crucial step in that vision, as the company seeks to understand how its AI chips survive the rigours of spaceflight.
Google has not yet announced plans to deploy a full data centre in space, but the successful testing of these TPUs could pave the way for future orbital computing infrastructure.