Google sends AI chips into orbit to test space-based data centres

Google has launched four AI chips into low Earth orbit on a SpaceX rocket to test whether its hardware can survive space conditions, a step toward potential orbital data centres. The year-long experiment began Thursday from California. The refrigerator-sized satellite, named MVP, carries four Google TPUs with computing power roughly equal to one data-centre server. It launched on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission as part of Project Suncatcher, announced in November 2025. Space-based computing could offer solar energy up to eight times more abundant than on Earth, addressing AI data centres' growing electricity demands. However, engineers must overcome radiation, heat, and cooling challenges, with chips currently limited to about 15 minutes of operation before needing to cool.