Google to launch TPUs into orbit on Project Suncatcher
Google is about to launch its own AI chips, called Tensor Processing Units, or TPUs, into space next week on a prototype satellite.
This mission, part of Project Suncatcher and scheduled to fly on SpaceX's upcoming Transporter-18 rideshare launch in partnership with satellite company Planet Labs, will see if these chips can handle the tough conditions of low Earth orbit while testing whether the chips can operate reliably in space.
TPUs face radiation and cooling tests
Until now, Google's TPUs were tested in labs on Earth, which doesn't show how they'd actually work in space.
This mission will finally put them through real launch stress, radiation, and extreme temperatures.
The team is also trying out a new cooling system built just for the vacuum of space.
If all goes well, it could open up new ways to run advanced AI off Earth, sidestepping terrestrial constraints on electricity supplies.