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Google to launch Project Suncatcher satellite with AI data center in orbit

techSep 24, 202631206

Google will launch an experimental satellite next week called the first MVP of Project Suncatcher that carries four Tensor Processing Units and is meant to run simple A.I. queries from orbit, The New York Times reported. The prototype is solar powered and is scheduled to operate for about a year, with an initial launch on a SpaceX rocket planned for October 1, sources including Channel NewsAsia and the Times say. Travis Beals, Google’s senior director of product management for Project Suncatcher, told the Times the chips can operate for about 15 minutes in space before they must be shut down to cool. Google’s cyclotron radiation tests showed promising results, with restarts usually resetting radiation-induced bit flips, though the company and reporters note heat dissipation and radiation resilience remain engineering challenges. The launch is positioned as a first step toward exploring whether larger-scale A.I. data centers could be sited in orbit and powered by sunlight, with this mission intended to gather operational data on thermal management, radiation effects, and restart behavior.

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