Google and Planet Labs launched a prototype satellite carrying four Google TPUs aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission on 2026-10-01.

The satellite carries four Google Tensor Processing Units to test AI chip performance in space conditions including cosmic radiation and extreme temperature fluctuations.

Google launched its first experimental satellite aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from California as part of the Suncatcher orbital computing research program.

This launch makes Google the first major technology company to launch a dedicated mission to test AI processing infrastructure in Earth orbit.