September 24, 2026
AI chips head for orbit: Google to launch 4 TPUs on Oct 1
On Oct 1, 2026, Google will launch a satellite with 4 custom TPUs. The company plans to run Gemini models on them. Project Suncatcher is testing whether space can support scalable ML infrastructure.
Google previously tested whether Trillium TPUs could withstand radiation. Now four chips will be tested in orbit under vibration, radiation, and thermal conditions.
Heat matters more than speed. In the first test, the TPUs will be able to operate for 15 minutes, then shut down while radiators dissipate heat. This is still a test of computing conditions, not an orbital data center.
In 2027, Google plans to launch two satellites to test laser links between nodes in distributed ML workloads.
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