Google is taking its first step toward making Project Suncatcher a reality. Announced last year, Suncatcher is Google’s “moonshot” effort to design orbital AI <a href="https://axiomcore.info/new-jerseys-largest-data-center-fined-1-07m-for-air-pollution-violations/" title="New Jersey's largest data center fined $1.07M for air pollution violations”>data centers, which AI boosters like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos have pitched as an alternative to divisive terrestrial data centers. Google’s first experimental satellite will launch on October 1 with the aim of validating Google’s vision for a constellation of AI satellites.
The satellite, dubbed MVP, is about the size of a refrigerator. Inside, it has four of Google’s custom TPU AI accelerators, which are used to train AI models and run inference to generate tokens for AI workloads. On Earth, a data center will run thousands of these chips, which consume massive amounts of power—one of the reasons putting solar-powered AI hardware in space is so attractive.
Google’s latest moonshot to put machine learning in space.
MVP is starting small, with solar panels that supply only about one kilowatt of power, The New York Times reports. That’s enough to power a microwave or a hair dryer. Google did not build the satellite from scratch. While the AI hardware inside is Google’s, the spacecraft comes from a satellite imagery firm called Planet Labs. The initial plan was to launch two custom satellites in 2027, but Google wanted to accelerate its efforts. So the company opted to integrate its chips into a satellite that Planet Labs had already built for an early test.
Google’s AI test will launch as part of the upcoming Transporter-18 rideshare aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Eventually, Google wants to have networks of orbiting satellites that communicate over high-speed laser connections, probably requiring expensive dedicated launches. This lone satellite will serve as a test of several technologies and will operate for just a few months.
The only real test
Google says it has conducted testing on the ground, but launching the satellite will provide a fuller picture of the current challenges. For example, the team will need to evaluate how Tensor chips handle space conditions. In many space missions, hardware is designed specifically for extreme temperatures or radiation, but these are the same TPUs that Google integrates into servers on the ground. Radiation can damage chips or simply interfere with calculations by flipping bits. But vibration and high g-forces during launch also pose problems. Still, as we’ve seen with missions like the Ingenuity Mars helicopter, off-the-shelf hardware can hold up pretty well out there.
Testing AI chips to survive in space.
Cooling the chips may be the biggest issue, something many observers have pointed out as the AI industry has gone wild over the idea of orbital data centers. Radiator systems exist in space, but they’re designed to remove a relatively small amount of heat. AI accelerators generate far more heat by comparison. Google’s solution uses a layer of malleable “thermal interface material” that connects the chips to aluminum and copper heat pipes. Those components conduct heat into a radiator that can project it into space.
Google will run Gemini models on the TPUs for testing, but they won’t be able to run continuously. The cooling system will only be able to operate in brief spurts of about 15 minutes. After that, the TPUs need to shut down to allow the radiators to catch up.
Making sure AI chips don’t overheat in space.
With this first test, Google hopes to understand what does and doesn’t work, allowing it to improve its designs for future missions. The 2027 launches are still on the agenda, but the team expects it will be years before Suncatcher evolves from “project” to “product.”
Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter
Ryan WhitwamSenior Technology Reporter
Ryan Whitwam is a senior technology reporter at Ars Technica, covering the ways Google, AI, and mobile technology continue to change the world. Over his 20-year career, he’s written for Android Police, ExtremeTech, Wirecutter, NY Times, and more. He has reviewed more phones than most people will ever own. You can follow him on Bluesky, where you will see photos of his dozens of mechanical keyboards.
