REUTERS/Yves Herman
- Google is testing a new project that could harness the sun to power data centers in space.
- Google’s own research shows that space-based data centers could avoid draining resources on Earth.
- SpaceX and other startups are exploring similar ideas.
Google is joining a new kind of space race.
On Tuesday, CEO Sundar Pichai announced Project Suncatcher, a “research moonshot” that would deploy satellites equipped with Google’s custom Tensor Processing Units, which already power many of Google’s AI models.
“Inspired by our history of moonshots, from quantum computing to autonomous driving,” Pichar wrote on X, “Project Suncatcher is exploring how we could one day build scalable ML compute systems in space, harnessing more of the sun’s power.”
Pichar added that the sun emits more power than 100 trillion times humanity’s total electricity production, and that Google plans to launch two prototype satellites in early 2027, each carrying Trillium-generation TPUs to test their performance in low-Earth orbit.
Although the TPU chips withstood radiation simulations in a particle accelerator, Google still faces hurdles ahead. According to Google’s research paper, which Pichai posted in a thread, the final product would involve fleets of solar-powered satellites connected by optical links to exchange data, said the paper. Pichai said in the X post that thermal management and reliability are both challenging.
If the tech giant could pull off the design challenge, its research paper argues that space-based computing could one day become a scalable solution, because it would run without draining electricity and water on Earth. Google’s analysis also finds that by the mid-2030s, the cost to launch rockets could drop below $200 per kilogram, which potentially makes sending a data center into space cheaper than building one on Earth.
Google isn’t the only company pursuing this idea. Elon Musk, who owns SpaceX, said on X on October 31 that the rocket company could build data centers for AI in space, while a startup called Starcloud launched its first satellite equipped with Nvidia’s GPU earlier in November.
“Great idea lol,” Musk commented on X under the Project Suncatcher’s announcement.
“Only possible because of SpaceX’s massive advances in launch technology!” Pichai responded.
Google and SpaceX did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
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