---
type: entity
entity_type: research_program
name: Google Project Suncatcher
parent_org: Google
domain: space-development
status: active
founded: 2025
---

# Google Project Suncatcher

**Type:** Research program  
**Parent Organization:** Google  
**Status:** Active (announced November 2025)  
**Domain:** Orbital data centers, space-based AI compute

## Overview

Project Suncatcher is Google's research moonshot exploring solar-powered satellite constellations equipped with Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) for machine learning compute in space. The project represents Google's long-term bet on orbital data centers as a viable compute architecture.

## Technical Architecture

- **Orbit:** Dawn-dusk sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) for near-constant sunlight exposure
- **Compute:** Google TPUs (4 per satellite in 2027 test)
- **Connectivity:** High-bandwidth free-space optical inter-satellite links
- **Cluster design:** 81 satellites operating 100-200 meters apart in 1km arrays
- **Power:** Solar power collection integrated with compute and thermal management
- **Long-term vision:** Gigawatt-scale constellations

## Partnership

- **Manufacturing/Operations Partner:** Planet Labs
- Planet provides satellite manufacturing and operations expertise
- Leverages Planet's experience with large LEO constellations (Dove, SkySat)

## Economic Model

- **Launch cost threshold:** $200/kg identified as enabling cost for gigawatt-scale deployment (mid-2030s)
- **Current tier:** Proof-of-concept using Falcon 9 economics (~$1,500-3,000/kg)
- **Constellation tier:** Requires Starship-class economics (~$200/kg)
- Approximately 10x cost reduction needed between proof-of-concept and constellation scale

## Timeline

- **2025-11:** Project announced
- **Early 2027:** Two test satellites launching, each with 4 TPUs
- **Mid-2030s:** Target timeline for constellation-scale deployment (per Sundar Pichai's "decade away" framing)

## Strategic Framing

Sundar Pichai (Google CEO) positioned Project Suncatcher as a long-range research initiative, not near-term commercial deployment: "A decade away from a new normal of extraterrestrial data centers" (Fortune, December 2025).

## Sources

- Data Center Dynamics, November 2025
- Google Research Blog
- SpaceNews (Planet Labs partnership)
- Fortune (Sundar Pichai interview, December 2025)
- Singularity Hub, Medium, InfoQ, Semafor coverage

## Timeline

- **2025-11** — Project Suncatcher announced; partnership with Planet Labs confirmed
- **Early 2027** — Planned launch of two test satellites, each equipped with 4 Google TPUs