{
  "id": 9783106,
  "title": "An Imminent Google Satellite Test Is Another Step Toward Data Centers in Space",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/an-imminent-google-satellite-test-is-another-step-toward-data-centers",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-09-25T15:06:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CNET",
    "slug": "cnet",
    "url": "https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/google-satellite-space-data-center/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On October 1st, Google is scheduled to launch a satellite on a SpaceX Transporter 18 rideshare mission. This satellite, known as \"MWP\" and roughly the size of a refrigerator, will be used to test Google's concept of running AI computations in space. The test satellite will be low-powered and solar-powered, designed solely to evaluate the feasibility of AI computation in space.\n\nGoogle is collaborating with satellite imaging company Planet and is part of Project Suncatcher, a project announced last year. In a blog post, Google describes the test as a preliminary step towards a long-term goal: exploring whether space could host scalable machine learning infrastructure. Google CEO tweeted about the test, asking if their TPUs (AI chips) could survive and operate in space.\n\nOne of the main reasons Google plans to run AI computations in space is the energy advantage. Satellites can access eight times more solar power than earthbound structures, providing a potential energy source for space data centers. Such data centers could bypass the controversy surrounding data centers on Earth. Google's senior director for Paradigms of Intelligence, Travis Beals, mentions that in the future, multiple constellations of satellites could work together to handle larger AI workloads in space. However, building data center satellites that can withstand radiation, extreme temperatures, and the physical stress of launch, while avoiding the risks posed by an overcrowded orbital environment, poses significant challenges.\n\nGoogle aims to advance Project Suncatcher with tangible results in the upcoming years, assuming the test is successful in October. By 2027, Google plans to start testing high-bandwidth laser links after launching two more AI satellites with Planet. However, maintaining laser communication requires extreme precision, and maintaining the connection is akin to hitting a coin-size target from miles away while both points are in motion.\n\nThe attraction of space data centers for tech companies lies in the public backlash against building new data centers on Earth, driven by concerns over energy use, water consumption, pollution, and potential physical impacts on nearby communities. Despite these advantages, putting data centers in space is costly, and there's no guarantee that the business model will prove viable, according to Mahdi Eslamimehr, executive vice president at Quandary Peak Research. Beals acknowledges that proving chips can work in orbit does not prove a business model, and it won't lower electricity or water bills anytime soon.",
  "summary": "Google is testing to see if its AI computing equipment can handle being launched into orbit.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Entrepreneur",
        "title": "Google’s Next AI Data Center Might Be in Outer Space. The First Test Launches Next Week.",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/25/googles-next-ai-data-center-might-be-in-outer-space-the-first-test",
        "published": "2026-09-25T13:45:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}