Google Says Its Suncatcher Satellite Runs Gemma 4 to Write a Space Haiku
Summary
Google's Suncatcher prototype space data center is online after launching on a SpaceX Falcon 9. It carries four Tensor Processing Units but can run one for about 20 minutes at a time due to power limits; engineers prompted DeepMind's Gemma 4 to write a space haiku. Google says it operates nominally, with two satellites planned for 2027.
Key Points
- Google says the spacecraft generates up to 1 kW of electricity to run its processors.
- Google says radiation can flip bits in memory and corrupt data without tripping monitoring tools.
- Suncatcher researchers estimate SpaceX needs 1,800 Starship flights to match earlier vehicle cost reductions.