{
 "id": "suncatcher-prototype",
 "entry": 15,
 "name": "Project Suncatcher prototype",
 "group": "launched",
 "class": "compute",
 "location": "Earth orbit",
 "operator": "Google, with Planet",
 "developer": "Google",
 "host": "A prototype satellite built with Planet",
 "catalogue": null,
 "dates": {
  "launched": "2026-10-01",
  "ran": null,
  "reported": "2026-10-01",
  "ended": null
 },
 "hardware": "Google TPUs; the number aboard is not given in Google's posts",
 "software": "none reported",
 "did": "Reached orbit and made contact. Google says it will measure how its chips stand up to launch, radiation and heat; it reports no AI workload.",
 "marks": [
  {
   "stage": "L",
   "evidence": 1,
   "basis": [
    "c1"
   ]
  }
 ],
 "claims": [
  {
   "id": "c1",
   "kind": "quote",
   "text": "launched into orbit aboard the Transporter-18 rideshare mission with SpaceX. Our team has confirmed contact with the satellite and it is operating as expected",
   "speaker": "Google",
   "relation": "operator",
   "source": "google-suncatcher-in-orbit",
   "url": "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/project-suncatcher-prototype/",
   "source_title": "Our Project Suncatcher prototype satellite is in orbit.",
   "publisher": "Google",
   "source_kind": "blog",
   "published": "2026-10-01",
   "published_basis": "page metadata",
   "accessed": "2026-10-04",
   "copy_route": "direct",
   "read": "in full"
  },
  {
   "id": "c2",
   "kind": "quote",
   "text": "Over the coming weeks, we'll gather in-orbit data on how our TPUs handle the physical stress of spaceflight and the radiation and thermal extremes of space.",
   "speaker": "Google",
   "relation": "operator",
   "source": "google-suncatcher-in-orbit",
   "url": "https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/models-and-research/google-research/project-suncatcher-prototype/",
   "source_title": "Our Project Suncatcher prototype satellite is in orbit.",
   "publisher": "Google",
   "source_kind": "blog",
   "published": "2026-10-01",
   "published_basis": "page metadata",
   "accessed": "2026-10-04",
   "copy_route": "direct",
   "read": "in full"
  },
  {
   "id": "c3",
   "kind": "quote",
   "text": "a pathfinder spacecraft for Project Suncatcher",
   "speaker": "Space.com",
   "relation": "news",
   "source": "spacecom-transporter-18",
   "url": "https://www.space.com/space-exploration/satellites/spacex-google-project-suncatcher-ai-satellite-transporter-18-mission",
   "source_title": "SpaceX launches Google AI satellite, 129 other payloads on 2nd leg of spaceflight tripleheader",
   "publisher": "Space.com",
   "source_kind": "news",
   "published": "2026-10-01",
   "published_basis": "page metadata",
   "accessed": "2026-10-04",
   "copy_route": "direct",
   "read": "in full"
  }
 ],
 "conflicts": [
  {
   "summary": "Three other trackers and round-ups, read on 3 October 2026, still gave this prototype as due in early 2027.",
   "status": "they are out of date"
  }
 ],
 "notes": "News reports give four TPUs; that figure was seen only in search snippets. Google's paper in Joule could not be opened. No catalogue object was found under the name tried.",
 "changed": null,
 "headline": "L1"
}