Google Readies SpaceX Launch of Orbital TPU Test for Project Suncatcher

Google is preparing to send its first Project Suncatcher prototype into low Earth orbit on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare, putting Google TPU AI chips inside a Planet-built spacecraft for an in-orbit test of space-based machine-learning infrastructure. The flight, scheduled for Oct. 1, 2026, is designed less as a working data center than as a stress test for launch vibration, radiation and cooling in vacuum.