Google is putting four TPUs on a fridge-sized satellite

Google is putting four TPUs on a fridge-sized prototype satellite for its first in-orbit test of space-based AI computing. Project Suncatcher is targeted to launch October 1 on SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission, with Planet helping build the hardware.

This is still a hardware test, not an orbital data center. The chips have to survive launch, radiation, vacuum, and extreme temperature swings, while limited heat dissipation caps each run at roughly 15 minutes before cooling forces a shutdown.