Google's first Suncatcher orbital data center test launches October 1

Google's Project Suncatcher will launch its first test satellite, MVP, on 1 October to validate an orbital AI data-centre concept. Roughly refrigerator-sized, it carries four Google-designed TPU accelerators and about one kilowatt of solar power. Google integrated the chips into a satellite already built by imaging company Planet Labs to accelerate progress; the original plan was to launch two custom satellites in 2027.