Google's Suncatcher prototype space data center is online and communicating with the ground, according to TechCrunch. The satellite launched earlier this month alongside more than 100 other spacecraft on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
The satellite carries a single Google Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) and generates up to 1 kW of electricity. The report says the TPU's power demands mean it can only run for about twenty minutes at a time, which complicates space-to-ground communications.
After about three weeks of commissioning, engineers sent their first prompt. They asked Google DeepMind's Gemma 4, the model preloaded on the satellite, to write a haiku about being in space. The report includes the output:
"Blue marble below Data streams in silent grace Starlight feeds my core."
Google also asked the spacecraft to report on orbital conditions. A spokesperson told TechCrunch the satellite is operating nominally.
The ongoing test campaign will examine how the chips perform under thermal stress and space radiation. Google has tested its TPUs in particle accelerators on Earth, but the report says it now needs to measure radiation's effects in orbit. Radiation can cause "bit flips," which can corrupt data without triggering typical monitoring tools. Ground testing suggested the effect would be minimal for inference workloads and a greater problem for training, according to the report.
If the chip proves capable, Google plans to launch two more satellites with advanced TPUs in 2027. Those satellites are meant to support higher power generation and demonstrate inter-satellite optical links.
The report notes that Alphabet, Google's parent company, holds a significant investment stake in SpaceX, and that both companies will need Starship to become fully and rapidly reusable to launch orbital data centers. A peer-reviewed analysis by Suncatcher researchers estimated SpaceX would need to fly Starship 1,800 times to achieve the cost reductions it saw with earlier vehicles, according to the report.