Google to launch first Suncatcher orbital data center test on October 1

Google is preparing for the first test of its orbital data center under the Suncatcher project. The launch is scheduled for October 1.

According to available details, the experimental craft will be fitted with four Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) — Google's in-house accelerators used for machine-learning workloads. The scale is deliberately modest: this is not a full-fledged compute station but a proof of concept for processing data in orbit.

Another limitation of this first test is its operating regime. The craft will be able to run only in sessions of roughly fifteen minutes at a time. That underscores the experimental nature of the mission: before anyone can talk about permanently operating space-based data centers, engineers must first confirm that the hardware can work reliably in orbital conditions at all.

The rationale for moving computation into space is tied to access to solar power and, potentially, to easier cooling. Still, the upcoming launch is only the very first step: four processors and fifteen-minute sessions can hardly replace ground infrastructure, but they will yield the first practical data on whether the concept is viable.

Source: Ars Technica