Google: orbital data center cooling limits TPU runs to 15 minutes

Google is launching its MVP satellite for Project Suncatcher on October 1 with four TPUs aboard a SpaceX Transporter-18 rideshare. Because space is a vacuum, heat can only leave via radiators, so the TPUs run in bursts of about 15 minutes while solar panels supply only about 1 kW.

• Fridge-sized MVP carries four TPUs and flies on Transporter-18 on October 1
• A perfect room-temperature radiator sheds about 460 W per square metre
• Solar panels provide only about 1 kW, like a hair dryer
• TPUs run in bursts of about 15 minutes before radiators catch up