Space Luisa Fernanda
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Friday, October 16, 2026 · UTC
Launches & Rockets

Google launches Project Suncatcher satellite, with onboard AI tested ahead of flight

The orbital launch was confirmed 12 October 2026, with supporting software demonstrated on a prior test flight.

Luisa Marconi
Senior Space Correspondent
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Google's Project Suncatcher satellite prepared for launch
Google's Project Suncatcher satellite prepared for launch AI illustrationhow this picture was made
MOUNTAIN VIEW, USA, Oct. 15, 2026 - Google has launched its Project Suncatcher satellite into orbit.[1] TechCrunch reports Satlyt software is scheduled to ride the same SpaceX launch this week, carrying the Suncatcher space data center prototype.[2] Prior to this launch, Satlyt successfully ran Google DeepMind's Gemma AI model on a Momentus test spacecraft. That test cut the size of onboard error transmissions by more than 60%.[3] Space Nugget. Most satellites send all raw data down to ground stations for processing. Running computation directly on orbit removes the need to transmit every unneeded byte, drastically reducing required bandwidth.
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What this stands on
  1. Google launched the Project Suncatcher satellite into orbit. · Investing.com
  2. Satlyt software is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX rocket during the week this article was published, alongside Google's Project Suncatcher space data center prototype. · TechCrunch
  3. Satlyt software successfully ran Google DeepMind's Gemma AI model on a Momentus spacecraft, reducing onboard error transmission size by more than 60%. · TechCrunch
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