Google's Project Suncatcher prototype satellite is now in orbit
Our Project Suncatcher prototype satellite is in orbit
Google launched its Project Suncatcher prototype satellite with Planet aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission, and the team has confirmed contact. The spacecraft is operating as expected. Over the coming weeks, Google will collect in-orbit data on how its TPUs withstand spaceflight stress and the radiation and thermal extremes of space, part of a long-term moonshot exploring whether space could host scalable machine learning infrastructure.
Some things can only be tested in space.
- dang
Recent and related:
Google's first Suncatcher orbital data center test launches October 1 - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49837350 - Sept 2026 (96 comments)
Google’s Project Suncatcher to put ML infrastructure in space - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49830606 - Sept 2026 (551 comments)
- 1sgT15
In other news, Howard Hughes explored the deep sea for purely civilian purposes ...
- dgellow
Cool, we will finally have actual data to see if that’s possible or not. My understanding is that doing compute in space for ML is pretty absurd, but the discussion will be way more interesting with real numbers.
I still think it’s mostly a way to put pressure on politicians, « you either give us tax cut, fast tracked permits, and let us do what we want with the land or we go to space and you get no benefits »