Google Sends Its AI Chips Into Orbit Next Week

Google will launch a prototype satellite carrying its Tensor Processing Units into orbit next week, the first in-space test of whether AI data centers can operate beyond Earth, according to Reuters.

The mission, called Project Suncatcher, puts the custom chips behind Google's AI services into low Earth orbit aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare launch. Google is running the test in partnership with satellite operator Planet Labs.

The move comes as terrestrial data centers face growing resistance. Investor Kevin O'Leary had to shrink his Utah AI data center project after fierce local pushback. A UMass Amherst poll released this month found only 1 in 9 Americans support building an AI data center in their own community.

Why space

The primary draw is energy. Solar panels in low Earth orbit can collect up to eight times more power than ground-based panels, according to Google. SpaceX and space-infrastructure startup Starcloud are pursuing the same concept.

Next week's launch answers more basic questions first. Google wants to know whether its chips survive launch forces, extreme temperatures and radiation, which can cause bit flips — data errors inside the hardware.

The satellite will also test a cooling system built from heat pipes and radiators. Airflow cooling, the standard method in ground data centers, does not work in a vacuum.

A long runway

An operational orbital data center remains distant. Experts say the concept sits years away from commercial viability.

Google is pacing the program accordingly. The company plans two more satellites in 2027 to test laser links between future computing clusters, a step toward networking orbital infrastructure at scale.

If the chips survive radiation and temperature swings next week, Project Suncatcher will have cleared the first of many hurdles between today's prototype and a data center that no community can vote down.