Google’s Suncatcher Prototype Space Data Center Comes Online and Runs AI in Orbit

Google’s Suncatcher prototype space data center is operational and communicating with the ground after reaching orbit earlier this month aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 alongside more than 100 other spacecraft. A spokesperson said the satellite is operating nominally.

The satellite carries four Google Tensor Processing Units and generates up to 1 kW of power, though it can run only one TPU at a time for about 20 minutes, complicating communications. After roughly three weeks of commissioning, engineers sent their first prompt, asking the onboard Gemma 4 model to write a haiku about space, and also requested a report on orbital conditions.

Testing will now examine how the chips handle thermal stress and space radiation, which can cause bit flips that silently corrupt data. Ground tests suggested radiation would affect inference less than training. If successful, Google plans two more satellites in 2027 with greater power and inter-satellite optical links.

Suncatcher stands out for planning high-speed links enabling distributed workloads across closely flying satellites. Both Google and SpaceX, in which Alphabet holds a significant stake, depend on a fully reusable Starship, with Suncatcher researchers estimating it would need about 1,800 flights to achieve key cost reductions. The project targets economical orbital infrastructure in the 2030s.