Google is launching AI chips into space to see if they survive up there

Google is set to launch an experimental satellite next month, carrying AI chips for the first time, as part of its efforts to test whether AI computing can operate reliably in space. The satellite, called MVP, will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It marks the beginning of Project Suncatcher, Google's initiative to explore the potential of solar-powered satellites functioning as space-based data centers for AI workloads.

The MVP satellite will carry four Google tensor processing units, or TPUs, each providing the computing capacity of a single data-center server. The chips, powered by solar panels, will handle short AI requests, despite the challenges posed by radiation and heat in space. Google has already tested the chips' resilience to radiation at the Crocker Nuclear Laboratory, confirming that restarts can usually correct bit flips caused by radiation.

Heat is another issue, as AI chips generate significant heat during calculations, but the cooling system moves heat away from the TPUs through multiple layers of thermal interface material. The satellite is designed to operate for a year, with the potential to remain in orbit for up to six years before burning up in the atmosphere.

While Google sees this as an early experiment rather than a commercial service, the concept has attracted attention as AI companies seek more efficient ways to meet their growing power requirements.