Google launches Project Suncatcher test satellite carrying four AI chips

Google said on October 7 that it had launched its first Project Suncatcher test satellite the previous week, carrying four tensor processing units (TPUs). The company is studying whether AI hardware can operate in orbit as part of a longer-term effort to explore machine learning infrastructure in space. Google says the mission will test the chips’ response to spaceflight, radiation and temperature extremes, as well as a cooling system designed for space.