Part 9/13:
Google plans to test the concept with two prototype satellites in partnership with Planet Labs by early 2027. These prototypes aim to validate critical aspects such as formation flying, inter-satellite optical links, and radiation resilience. Success in these early tests would pave the way for scaling to full constellation deployments—potentially supporting gigawatt-scale power and thousands of TPUs in orbit.
Towards Smarter Satellites
Eventually, future satellite designs may integrate solar power, compute hardware, and thermal radiators into a unified, compact architecture—akin to embedded systems on smartphones rather than traditional satellite buses. This integration could dramatically improve efficiency, reduce mass, and simplify deployment.