Facing increasing energy demands from its artificial intelligence endeavors, Google is seriously contemplating a bold move: launching AI data centers into space. Dubbed Project Suncatcher, the ambitious plan aims to leverage the boundless solar energy available beyond Earth’s atmosphere to power its Tensor Processing Units (TPUs). A Google senior director, Travis Beals, believes space offers an unparalleled environment for scaling AI computing capabilities.
According to a newly released preprint paper, Google’s vision involves deploying solar-powered satellites equipped with TPUs into orbit. These space-based data centers could potentially be eight times more productive than their Earth-bound counterparts, thanks to continuous solar exposure. The company acknowledges challenges such as satellite communication and radiation hardening for the sensitive AI hardware.
Google anticipates a joint mission with Planet by 2027 to test prototype satellites in orbit. While acknowledging the significant upfront costs, Google projects that space-based AI data centers could become cost-competitive with terrestrial facilities by the mid-2030s, marking a significant step towards a potentially more sustainable future for AI. Further details are available from The Verge’s original report.