What changed
Google’s Suncatcher satellite, part of the company’s space data center initiative, has successfully communicated with Earth after launching earlier this month. The satellite, which carries four Google Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), is now operational and running Google DeepMind’s Gemma 4 model. Engineers sent a prompt asking the model to write a haiku about being in space, resulting in the poem: 'Blue marble below / Data streams in silent grace / Starlight feeds my core.'
What this means in practice
The satellite, which generates up to 1 kW of electricity, is intended to pave the way for future networks of close-flying satellites performing large inference workloads in orbit. However, the power demands of the TPU mean it can only turn one on for about 20 minutes at a time, complicating space-to-ground communications. The satellite underwent a three-week commissioning process to test its subsystems before being ready to work. Google also asked the spacecraft to report on orbital conditions around the satellite, and a spokesperson confirmed the satellite was operating nominally.
Limitations and availability
The satellite’s TPU can only operate one at a time due to power constraints, which limits its ability to handle continuous workloads. The ongoing test campaign will examine how the chips perform under thermal stress and in the space radiation environment. Google has tested its TPUs in particle accelerators on Earth, but now needs to assess their performance in real space conditions. Radiation can cause 'bit flips' that may corrupt data without triggering typical monitoring tools. If the TPUs onboard this spacecraft prove capable, the next step will be launching two more satellites equipped with the advanced chips in 2027. Those spacecraft will support higher power generation and demonstrate inter-satellite optical links.
