Google launches “Project Suncatcher” AI space center

Google has announced a new research initiative called “Project Suncatcher,” which aims to build a large-scale AI infrastructure in space. The goal is to build a scalable computing platform for AI in space by equipping a fleet of solar-powered satellites with their own AI accelerator, the Tensor Processing Unit (TPU), and interconnecting them with a free-space optical link. The details of the announcement are summarized in the paper “Towards a future space-based, highly scalable AI infrastructure system design.”

“Space Power Generation” for AI: The Full Picture and Challenges

AI is becoming a fundamental technology supporting social development, and its computing demands are expanding year by year. To address this, Google is exploring the possibility of performing large-scale AI calculations in space. The sun emits more than 100 trillion times the amount of energy humans currently use. Solar panels deployed in appropriate orbits are unaffected by day and night or weather, generating up to eight times more power than on Earth, providing nearly continuous power. Leveraging this characteristic, deploying large-scale AI calculations in space could potentially reduce the burden on the global environment. Project Suncatcher envisions building a modular system consisting of multiple small satellites, rather than a single large satellite, connected via high-bandwidth optical communications. Each satellite will be equipped with a TPU, and the goal is to achieve performance comparable to that of a terrestrial data center through inter-satellite communications .

To maximize sunlight exposure, the constellation will be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit that constantly passes over the Earth’s light-dark boundary. This will minimize the satellites’ exposure to the Earth’s shadow. Several technical challenges must be overcome to realize this concept. First, high-speed datacenter-level communications between satellites must be achieved. Google’s analysis suggests that combining multi-channel dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology with spatial multiplexing could potentially secure communications bandwidth of several tens of terabits per second (Tbps). To compensate for loss of receiving power, the research team is considering a design that ensures communication quality by limiting the inter-satellite distance to less than one kilometer.

Also Read: Idemitsu and Source Energy team up for Space Solar Tech

The research team has already achieved a total of 1.6 Tbps of bidirectional communication using a bench-scale experimental device. The next challenge is controlling the orbital dynamics to ensure stable operation of multiple satellites at close range. Google analyzed orbital behavior, taking into account the aspherical symmetry of Earth’s gravity and atmospheric resistance, and found that a cluster of 81 satellites with a radius of one kilometer and an average altitude of 650 kilometers could maintain stability even when spaced a few hundred meters apart. The TPU’s resistance to space radiation is also being evaluated. Google’s Trillium (6th-generation TPU) was irradiated with a 67 MeV (electron volt) proton beam. No significant abnormalities were observed up to 2 krad (Si), approximately three times the radiation dose expected for five years of operation if approximately 10 mm of aluminum were used for shielding. No operational failures were observed even at 15 krad (Si). Because the radiation dose absorbed by the silicon (Si) semiconductor material was sufficiently low, Trillium may maintain high reliability even in the space environment.

Google estimates that launch costs could fall below $200 per kilogram by the mid-2030s, making the cost of operating a space-based data center roughly comparable to the electricity costs of a similar-sized terrestrial data center. Google is planning a joint experimental mission with Planet Labs, a public interest satellite corporation, in early 2027, launching two test satellites. This experiment will demonstrate distributed AI computing via optical communication and verify the behavior of TPU hardware in a space environment. Google has previously worked on technological challenges such as quantum computers and self-driving cars . Project Suncatcher is an extension of these efforts, and may eventually lead to a new satellite design that integrates power generation, computing, and heat dissipation.

SOURCE: Yahoo