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Suncatcher flies 4 TPUs on a Falcon 9 on 1 October

Google set 1 October for the first Project Suncatcher satellite, a refrigerator-sized craft with 4 TPUs and about 1 kW of solar power, on SpaceX's Falcon 9 Transporter-18 flight. Cooling lets those chips run about 15 minutes and then stop. The Verge reported the same 1 October Falcon 9 launch and the same 15-minute run before the chips are switched off.

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A plain white rocket standing vertical on a Florida pad, steam at its base, and a small panelled satellite on a transporter.

A refrigerator, 4 chips, 1 October

Google said the Project Suncatcher test satellite launches on 1 October aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 on the Transporter-18 rideshare. The refrigerator-sized satellite carries 4 TPUs and draws about 1 kW from its solar panels. The spacecraft body comes from Planet Labs; Google put its chips into a vehicle that was already built. The Verge reported that a satellite carrying Google Tensor Processing Units launches on a SpaceX Falcon 9 on 1 October. The page is dated 24 September. The first flight is a hardware test in orbit, not a working orbital data center. Engadget reported a satellite named MVP on a SpaceX Falcon 9 set for 1 October, with four tensor processing units, and described it as not a full data center. The page is dated 24 September.[1], [2], [3]

Fifteen minutes, then the chips stop

Cooling lets the TPUs run for about 15 minutes and then stop. Google said the plan for 2 custom satellites in 2027 still stands, and that this first flight measures radiation and heat after ground tests. The Verge reported that the chips can run about 15 minutes before they are turned off to cool. Google plans two satellites next year.[1], [2]

The custom satellites wait for 2027

Ars Technica keeps the chip count at 4 and the power draw at about 1 kW. The body is a Planet Labs vehicle already built, with Google's chips added. The 2027 pair of custom satellites is a later plan, not this October flight. The Verge does not call the October craft a working data center. It is the hardware test: Falcon 9 on 1 October, Tensor Processing Units, and a 15-minute run before the chips stop. The count of 4 TPUs and the 1 kW figure stay on the Ars Technica account.[1], [2]

References

  1. News sourceArs TechnicaGoogle set 1 October for a Suncatcher test with 4 TPUs↩1↩2↩3
  2. News sourceThe VergeGoogle is sending an AI satellite into space next week↩1↩2↩3
  3. News sourceEngadgetA satellite named MVP carries four TPUs on a 1 October Falcon 9↩
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