Google's First Data Center Satellite Is Online and Writing Poetry

Google's inaugural experimental space-based data center has become operational, after being launched in recent months. The satellite, carrying four Google Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) and capable of generating up to 1 kilowatt of electricity, aims to lay the groundwork for future networks of satellites that can perform large inference tasks in orbit.

However, the TPUs' power requirements mean that only one can be operational at a time for approximately 20 minutes, adding complexity to the already challenging task of space-to-ground communication.

Following a commissioning phase that evaluated the satellite's components over roughly three weeks, the spacecraft became ready for operation. On this occasion, engineers transmitted their inaugural instruction to the pre-loaded model, Google DeepMind's Gemma 4, asking it to compose a haiku about being in space. The resulting creation was: "Blue marble below Data streams in silent grace Starlight feeds my core."

Additional testing will assess how the TPUs operate under thermal stress and in the harsh space radiation environment. If these chips prove capable, Google plans to launch two additional satellites equipped with the advanced chips in 2027. These spacecraft will feature enhanced power generation and will demonstrate inter-satellite optical links.