Google is sending an AI satellite into space next week
Google will launch a TPU satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on October 1 to test AI compute in orbit.
Google’s Project Suncatcher will launch a satellite carrying Tensor Processing Units aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 on October 1 to test AI hardware in low Earth orbit. The mission will measure how the chips handle launch stress, radiation, and thermal extremes, and will trial a heat-pipe and radiator cooling system. Google says ground tests showed tolerance for high g-force and radiation, but the chips can run only about 15 minutes before they must be powered down to cool. The company plans to place two satellites in orbit next year as a step toward constellations of chip-equipped satellites.
- A TPU-equipped satellite launches on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on October 1.
- The mission will test radiation, thermal stress, and orbital cooling.
- Chips ran about 15 minutes before they had to shut down to cool.
- Google plans two more satellites next year for orbital AI compute.
From the original article
2 min read at theverge.com
Google is getting ready to launch a satellite with its AI processors to test how well they perform in space, as reported earlier by The New York Times. The move is part of Google's Project Suncatcher, the company's experimental initiative that could eventually put AI data centers into orbit.
By Emma Roth · theverge.com
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