Google runs first AI prompt in orbit, gets poem from satellite

Google has run its first AI prompt in space, using its Project Suncatcher satellite to generate a poem in orbit, marking a key milestone for orbital AI computing. The satellite, launched earlier this month, received a ground command, powered on a Tensor Processing Unit, and ran Google DeepMind’s Gemma 4 model to produce a haiku from a TPU's perspective. The experiment tests AI performance under space radiation, heat, and power limits, with four TPUs onboard but only one running at a time for about 20 minutes. Google plans two more Suncatcher satellites with laser links in 2027, aiming for solar-powered orbital data centers. Success depends on radiation and heat data from this prototype, as well as future Starship launch costs.