Google's Project Suncatcher Satellite Completes First In-Orbit AI Inference Using Onboard TPU

Google's Project Suncatcher prototype satellite successfully completed its first in-orbit AI inference, CEO Sundar Pichai announced on X. Weeks after launch, the team sent commands to orbit, booted the onboard TPU, ran a prompt, and received a complete reply — a haiku — back on Earth. The milestone marks a "hello world" moment for the project, which aims to deploy solar-powered satellites carrying TPUs into space to explore using solar energy for AI computing. The prototype satellite entered orbit in early October aboard a SpaceX launch mission.