Google's first data-centre satellite is online and talking to the ground

Longest a chip can run at a time

20 minutes

The Suncatcher prototype carries four Google TPU chips and generates up to 1 kW of electricity. That is enough to run only one chip at a time, for about 20 minutes.

Engineers' first prompt asked the satellite's Gemma 4 model for a haiku about being in space. Google says the satellite is operating nominally.

The test campaign will measure how the chips cope with thermal stress and space radiation. Radiation can cause bit flips that corrupt data without triggering monitoring tools.

What's next

If the chips prove capable, Google plans to launch two more satellites with advanced chips in 2027. They will demonstrate optical links between satellites.