Google’s first experimental AI data center satellite is operational and has begun communicating with Earth, following its launch in October and several weeks of testing. The satellite is part of the company’s Suncatcher project.
It carries four Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), Google chips designed to run AI models. The satellite can generate up to one kilowatt of electricity, enough to keep one AI chip active for about 20 minutes, TechCrunch reports.
In an initial test, Google DeepMind’s Gemma 4 model was asked to write a haiku about life in space. The satellite has also sent back information about conditions in its orbit.
Google plans to test how the chip performs amid space temperatures and radiation. If those tests go well, the company intends to launch two more satellites in 2027. Its longer-term aim is a satellite network capable of carrying out advanced AI computations.
Sources: Computerworld.