Google's 4 space TPUs run Gemma 4 in orbit

A Google TPU in orbit ran an AI model and sent its answer back to Earth. Google announced the result in a blog post on the 30th of October 2026.

A TPU, or Tensor Processing Unit, is the chip Google builds to run AI. The chip ran Google's open Gemma 4 model and wrote a haiku about space, the post by Travis Beals said.

Four Google TPUs launched on the 1st of October on SpaceX's Transporter-18

Google sent four TPUs into orbit on the 1st of October, its News from Google account wrote on X on the 30th. The satellite flew on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare from Vandenberg in California, Planet said in a statement.

Planet, a company that builds Earth-imaging satellites, developed the craft with Google. It was one of 20 satellites Planet put in orbit on that flight, the statement said.

Below we break down the first test, from Google's post of the 30th of October

The team first powered up the host computer and the TPU trays, Beals wrote. Then it ran early machine learning tests.

During a pass over a ground station, the team sent a prompt up to Gemma 4. The haiku came down as the satellite passed over Svalbard, Norway.

The poem read: "Blue marble below / Data streams in silent grace / Starlight feeds my core."

The answer was announced 29 days after launch, by our arithmetic. Google called it the first AI response from a data center class TPU in orbit.

What is confirmed and what is not

Google's own posts confirm four TPUs and Gemma 4. They do not name the TPU generation or the power supply.

Hardware Busters reported on the 30th of October that the chips are Trillium TPUs and that solar arrays give about 1 kilowatt. Google has published no radiation results from orbit yet.

Heat and radiation tests next, two more TPU satellites in 2027

The team will test how the TPUs cope with heat and radiation in orbit, Beals wrote. Google plans to send two more TPU satellites to orbit in 2027, its X post said.

Key facts

Four Google TPUs launched on the 1st of October 2026 on SpaceX's Transporter-18.

Satellite built with Planet for Google's Project Suncatcher.

A TPU ran Gemma 4 and sent back a haiku, Google said on the 30th of October.

Two more TPU satellites due in 2027.