1, 2026. The company says its team has confirmed contact and that the satellite is operating as expected. Google describes this as the first step in a long-term research effort exploring whether space could host scalable machine-learning infrastructure. Over the coming weeks, the team plans to collect in-orbit data on how its TPUs handle the physical stresses of spaceflight, radiation and thermal extremes. Google says a peer-reviewed paper detailing the research is available in Joule. The announcement reports a mission milestone and planned tests; it does not report test results or demonstrate operational orbital compute.
Raw SignalOct 2, 20261 min read1 source
Google's Project Suncatcher prototype satellite is in orbit
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Google says its Project Suncatcher prototype satellite, built in partnership with Planet, launched into orbit aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission on Oct.