Overview
- Google confirmed two prototype satellites targeted for early 2027 to evaluate power generation, chip performance, data transfer and on‑orbit reliability.
- Sundar Pichai said Trillium‑generation TPUs survived lab radiation exposure at levels comparable to those found in orbit.
- The longer‑term concept envisions roughly 80 low‑Earth‑orbit satellites about 400 miles up, interconnected by free‑space optical links.
- Google frames space‑based compute as a way to tap continuous solar energy and ease land, water and cooling demands on terrestrial data centers, with internal models pointing to possible cost‑competitiveness by the mid‑2030s.
- Elon Musk responded on X with “Great idea lol,” and Pichai credited SpaceX’s launch advances in reply.