Google has launched its first TPU satellite, a prototype carrying four Trillium AI chips into orbit aboard a SpaceX Transporter-18 rideshare on October 1.

The Planet-built prototype, called Project Suncatcher MVP, made contact and is operating as expected, according to reports. The mission tests how AI chips handle launch vibration, radiation, and heat in low Earth orbit. The hard problem is cooling: with no air in space, the chips can run only about 15 minutes at a stretch before they must pause to cool.

Google envisions far more: clusters of over 80 satellites linked by optical connections, with panels in near-constant sunlight. A 2027 follow-up will test high-bandwidth laser links between two satellites.

India is in the race too. Hyderabad startup TakeMe2Space flew its MOI-1A satellite on the same mission. The sub-50 kg satellite carries Nvidia Orin NX processors and runs containerised AI models uploaded by customers, processing data in orbit instead of beaming it all back to Earth. The company says it has signed 23 customers.

Why it matters: AI is becoming physical infrastructure, and now orbital infrastructure. Whoever solves computing in space gets a head start on the next frontier.