Google to launch Trillium TPUs into orbit Sept 28

The launch builds on Google's November 2025 research, which proposed an orbit with nearly continuous sunlight and estimated that solar panels there could produce up to eight times the energy of panels on Earth. That research also flagged cooling as a separate challenge, since a vacuum provides no airflow to carry heat away, leading Google's design to rely on heat pipes and radiators.

The test follows growing resistance to Earth-based data centers. In Lowell, Massachusetts, residents complained about cooling equipment noise and generator fumes, and the city council voted unanimously in February 2026 to halt further data center expansion for a year, according to AP. Axios reported in July that a market monitor estimated data centers accounted for $6.3 billion of $16.4 billion in PJM capacity auction costs. Researcher Jonathan Koomey cautioned in AP's reporting that demand pressures differ by location.

Google's cost model suggests launch prices could fall below $200 per kilogram by the mid-2030s, at which point the company estimates launch and operating costs could approach the energy costs of equivalent computing on Earth. But data center operators would also need reliable service over years, fast connections to the ground, and costs that can compete with facilities on Earth. In a February interview with The Indian Express, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman questioned whether space data centers could reach meaningful scale this decade, citing launch economics and the difficulty of fixing failed GPUs in space. Whether orbital computing eases pressure on local grids may hinge on whether it replaces capacity that would otherwise be built on Earth, rather than adding to it.