Google launches Project Suncatcher satellite into orbit

Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) announced Monday that its Project Suncatcher prototype satellite has successfully launched into orbit aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 rideshare mission. The company confirmed it has established contact with the satellite and that it is operating as expected.

The satellite was built in partnership with Planet as part of a research initiative exploring whether space could host scalable machine learning infrastructure. The project represents Google’s effort to test computational hardware in the space environment.

Over the coming weeks, Google will collect in-orbit data on how its Tensor Processing Units handle the physical stress of spaceflight and the radiation and thermal extremes of space. The company stated that certain tests can only be conducted in the space environment.

Google described Project Suncatcher as a long-term research moonshot. The company plans to use data gathered from the initial experiments to refine its designs for potential future iterations.

The tech company said it will share additional information as the mission progresses. The satellite launch marks the first step in Google’s exploration of space-based machine learning capabilities.