Google launches first Project Suncatcher orbital AI test

(SpaceEnergy) Google has launched the first Project Suncatcher spacecraft, advancing its solar-powered orbital artificial-intelligence infrastructure programme from ground testing to an in-space technology demonstration.

The prototype flew on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.

Developed with Planet, the spacecraft carries Google Tensor Processing Units to test their operation under launch loads, radiation and the thermal extremes of low Earth orbit. Google said near-continuous sunlight in low Earth orbit could allow satellites to generate up to eight times more solar power than comparable terrestrial installations.

The mission will also evaluate a cooling architecture using heat pipes and radiators. Ground tests had already subjected the hardware to vibration, thermal-vacuum conditions and proton irradiation.

Google said its Trillium processors survived a total ionising radiation dose exceeding the level expected during a five-year space mission, but identified orbital thermal management as a critical remaining engineering challenge.

The flight is a material milestone beyond Google’s previously announced Project Suncatcher launch plan. The company intends a further mission in 2027 using two satellites to test high-bandwidth laser links required to connect future clusters of computing spacecraft.

Google ultimately envisages satellites carrying dozens of processors operating in closely coordinated orbital clusters, although it has not committed to commercial deployment.