SpaceX set to launch Google AI chips into orbit in push toward space-based data centers

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Northrop Grumman's Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) and Mission Extension Pods (MEPs) launches from Space Force Station's Launch Complex 40 in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on July 21, 2026. Chandan Khanna | AFP | Getty ImagesAlphabet plans to launch its homegrown AI chips into orbit on Thursday in a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, a step towards making data centers in space a reality.The launch is scheduled for 11:15 am PT from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California's Santa Barbara County. SpaceX has promoted supercomputers in space as the next frontier in artificial intelligence infrastructure, touting "infinite real estate" in orbit as a means of escaping the data center backlash on the ground. During the uncrewed Transporter-18 mission, SpaceX will carry Planet Labs satellites, including a solar-powered prototype equipped with Google's tensor processing units (TPUs).It marks the first in-orbit test for Alphabet's Project Suncatcher, a "moonshot" initiative Google first revealed in November 2025. The company aims to develop reliable, solar-powered AI computing infrastructure that can operate continuously in space.In a post announcing the launch plan, Alphabet ...