DOD taps Elon Musk, Palmer Luckey, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich for Project Meridian, a 120-day study of capabilities the US may need in future wars (Luke Fountain/CNBC)

Elon Musk predicts that space will soon host nearly all computing power, but Google is cautiously exploring the possibility in its Project Suncatcher. The tech giant's plan is to launch a test satellite with Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) to determine if AI data centers can function in space. While SpaceX and Nvidia aim to rapidly deploy AI infrastructure in orbit, Google believes it should first verify whether TPUs can survive the harsh conditions of space.

The first Suncatcher satellite, set to launch this October, carries four TPUs and must endure extreme temperatures, radiation, and intense vibrations during the launch. Google's engineers cite high-energy particles and cooling challenges as significant hurdles. Unlike Earth-based servers, the hardware will face unique stresses that haven't been fully replicated on the ground.

If successful, Google envisions a constellation of solar-powered, laser-linked satellites forming a high-speed AI compute network. This initial satellite mission serves as a research moonshot to identify potential obstacles and refine the technology for future, more ambitious space-based AI infrastructure.