Google set to launch its first space data centre trial
On Thursday 1 October, Big G’s experimental satellite will be launched; for one year, it will be tasked with answering questions about artificial intelligence sent from Earth
On Thursday 1 October, Google will launch an experimental satellite into orbit to test the feasibility of an artificial intelligence data centre in space. The launch of Google’s test satellite will be carried out using an Elon Musk-owned SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Vandenberg Space Force Base, near Santa Barbara, California, after which it will be deployed into orbit.
As big as a fridge
Google points out that, for the time being, this is not a full-scale data centre but a small prototype – a precursor to what space-based data centres might look like – known as an MVP (Minimum Viable Product), and it will be the size of a fridge.
The MVP contains four special chips, known as Tensor Processing Units (TPUs), which possess the computing power of a single server in an AI data centre on Earth, but are designed to withstand the harsh conditions of space, the vibrations of launch and space radiation.
The experimental satellite’s solar panels will supply the chips with one kilowatt of power – the amount of energy needed to run a hairdryer.
Operational for one year
The satellite has been programmed to orbit the Earth for six years, but will remain operational for just one year and, if the experiment is successful, will answer simple artificial intelligence queries sent from Earth. Eventually, it is likely to succumb to Earth’s gravitational pull and disintegrate as it re-enters the atmosphere. This is what happens to the old low-Earth orbit satellites in Musk’s Starlink telecoms network when they are replaced by the new generation.
The challenge of the project, as Big G’s researchers explained to the New York Times, was to adapt the electronic components to the harsh conditions of space. The test will, in fact, serve to understand how the chips and the hardware in general withstand radiation and the vacuum of space for around twelve months.
A layered cooling system
Particular attention has been paid to the cooling process for Google’s small space data centre module. This is because mechanical fans used to cool computers in space do not work. To address this, researchers in Mountain View have developed a layered cooling system, made of aluminium and copper, to dissipate the heat generated by the computers in space. The chips will operate in cycles of around 15 minutes. They will then shut down to cool down.
