Google's First Suncatcher Orbital Data Center Test Satellite Launches October 1
Ars Technica AI · rss · 2026-09-25
Google's Project Suncatcher takes its first step: the initial experimental satellite MVP launches October 1 to validate the vision of an orbital AI data center constellation.
MVP is roughly refrigerator-sized and carries four of Google's custom TPU AI accelerators, with solar panels supplying only about one kilowatt — enough for a microwave. Google didn't build the spacecraft from scratch: it comes from satellite imagery firm Planet Labs. The original plan was two custom satellites in 2027, but Google accelerated by integrating its chips into an already-built Planet Labs satellite.
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