Google

12 hours agoNews Editor

Google brings first Suncatcher space data center satellite online for TPU inference test

Google said its Suncatcher prototype space data center satellite is now online and has established communications with the ground, marking an early operational step for the company’s orbital computing experiment. The satellite was launched into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 and carries a single Google Tensor Processing Unit, or TPU. Its maximum power generation is 1 kilowatt, though power constraints limit each run to roughly 20 minutes. According to Google, ground operators have already used the satellite’s preloaded Gemma 4 model to generate haiku and report on orbital conditions. The company also said it plans to launch two more satellites in a later phase. Those additions are intended to support higher power generation and optical inter-satellite links. The update was cited by Techub, which referenced TechCrunch.

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Germany

11 days agoNews Editor

Reflex Aerospace expands satellite production in Europe with backing from Nvidia’s planned investment

German satellite company Reflex Aerospace is expanding satellite production in Europe, according to a brief update cited by ChainCatcher. The report says the move is supported by Nvidia’s planned investment. No further details were provided in the source on the size of the investment, the production timeline, or the scope of the expansion. The update identifies Reflex Aerospace as a German satellite company and frames the expansion as taking place in Europe. ChainCatcher attributed the development to support tied to Nvidia’s planned investment, but the brief did not disclose additional context beyond that point.

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SpaceX

29 days agoNews Editor

SpaceX plans to launch Planet Labs satellite carrying Google TPU into orbit

Techub News, citing CNBC, reported that SpaceX plans to send a Planet Labs satellite carrying Google’s Tensor Processing Unit, or TPU, into orbit. The report said the move is intended to support the development of space-based data centers. The item identifies three companies tied to the plan: SpaceX as the launch provider, Google as the TPU supplier, and Planet Labs as the satellite operator. No launch date, mission name, technical specifications, or financial details were disclosed in the source material. The report was published by Techub News under the technology category.

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Google

1 months agoNews Editor

Google to launch Suncatcher prototype satellite with four TPUs for in-orbit space tests

Google is set to send its first Project Suncatcher prototype satellite into orbit on Oct. 1 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The satellite, built with Planet, will carry four Trillium tensor processing units, or TPUs, to test whether Google’s in-house AI chips can withstand launch shock, radiation exposure and heat dissipation in a vacuum. Google said the mission is meant to answer a basic question that ground simulations cannot fully settle: whether AI hardware can survive the physical conditions of launch and low Earth orbit. The report says Google has already run vibration tests and proton-beam radiation experiments, with early results showing Trillium handled total ionizing dose levels above what a five-year space mission is expected to encounter. Heat remains a central challenge because orbital systems cannot rely on air convection and must radiate heat away through panels. The mission also feeds into Google’s 2027 plan to test laser links between two satellites, a step toward clustered orbital computing systems. The article places Google’s effort alongside SpaceX’s own orbital data center ambitions, including its FCC filing for up to 1 million satellites and Elon Musk’s stated goal of sending Nvidia-linked AI chips to space in the fourth quarter of next year.

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Bitcoin mining

3 months agoNews Editor 01

Starcloud Plans Bitcoin Mining in Space: Orbital Rig Test Coming in 2026

U.S. startup Starcloud announced it will launch a satellite with Bitcoin mining hardware later in 2026, aiming to be the first to test production mining in orbit. CEO Philip Johnston cites successful GPU space tests and lower hardware costs, but cooling, radiation, and latency remain hurdles.

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Bit.Fan