TLDR Tech / Hardware
Google's Project Suncatcher Launches October 1, Testing TPUs in Orbit
Google is launching MVP, a refrigerator-sized satellite carrying four of its Tensor Processing Units, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-18 rideshare mission, months ahead of the original early-2027 target. Built in partnership with Planet Labs, the satellite's solar panels generate only about one kilowatt, and the mission is primarily about stress-testing hardware, checking how the TPUs handle launch vibration and acceleration (50-100x gravity), radiation, and thermal extremes rather than doing anything computationally useful.
Read the full story