Google’s first data center satellite is online and writing poetry

What happened

Google Suncatcher’s prototype space data center is online and communicating with Earth, running Google DeepMind’s Gemma 4 on a single TPU to write poetry and report orbital conditions. The satellite generates up to 1 kW, but its TPU can operate for only about twenty minutes at a time. Tests will examine thermal stress and radiation effects; successful results would support launching two more satellites in 2027 to demonstrate higher power generation and inter-satellite optical links.

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Reported by 3 sources

The story so far

Google’s Project Suncatcher prototype satellite has run an AI prompt in orbit and returned its first complete response to Earth—a haiku—according to Sundar Pichai. He said the team sent a command from Earth, booted the satellite’s TPU and received the result. TechCrunch reported that the satellite was operating normally and running Google DeepMind’s Gemma 4 on a single TPU to write poetry and report orbital conditions. The prototype is a test toward possible AI data centers in space. It generates up to 1 kW of power, but its TPU can operate for only about twenty minutes at a time, according to TechCrunch. Google says it will next evaluate how TPUs perform under thermal stress and radiation exposure in orbit. If the onboard TPU proves capable, TechCrunch reported, the next step would be to launch two more satellites in 2027 to demonstrate higher power generation and optical links between satellites.