Project Suncatcher is our moonshot exploring whether we can one day host machine learning infrastructure in space 🚀 To do so, we need to know whether our AI hardware can operate in orbit. Can our TPUs handle the physical stress of spaceflight and the radiation and thermal extremes of space? These are the questions Google researchers have been exploring for the past few years. Last week, we launched our first test satellite carrying four TPUs into orbit — putting us one step closer to getting answers. ▻ ▻ 📷 📷