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Argo Space, started in late 2022 by former SpaceX engineers Robert, Ryan, and Kirby Carlisle, is developing spacecraft that use water as propellant, coolant, and radiation shield instead of traditional rocket fuel. The company launched its first demonstration mission, Navigator, in July aboard a Falcon 9 rideshare, successfully contacting the spacecraft though one of its two solar arrays failed to deploy.
Google confirmed its first Suncatcher prototype satellite, which carries a single Tensor Processing Unit and generates up to 1 kW of power, is online and communicating with ground engineers after launching this month on a SpaceX Falcon 9. Following roughly three weeks of subsystem checks, engineers sent the satellite its first prompt, having it run Google DeepMind's Gemma model to generate a haiku and report on orbital conditions; a Google spokesperson said the satellite is operating nominally.
A decade after SpaceX first successfully landed a reusable Falcon 9 booster in December 2015, reusable rockets have removed launch access as the industry's main bottleneck. The constraint has shifted toward manufacturing enough satellites, securing sufficient funding, and finding enough paying customers.
A Falcon 9 rocket launched SpaceX's Crew-13 mission from Cape Canaveral, sending four astronauts to the International Space Station for a six-month stay. The launch, originally planned for mid-September, was delayed so SpaceX could cut into a propellant line and replace a faulty valve in the Dragon spacecraft's propulsion system.
Alphabet is sending its tensor processing units to space on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-18 mission launching from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The flight carries Planet Labs satellites, including a solar-powered prototype fitted with Google's AI chips, marking the first in-orbit test of Google's Project Suncatcher initiative first announced in November 2025.
Google plans to launch a small experimental satellite called MVP next month aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The craft carries four of Google's TPU chips and solar panels producing about one kilowatt of power, and is meant to test whether AI processors can withstand radiation and heat exposure in orbit. Earlier ground tests exposed the chips to simulated years of space radiation, finding that restarts usually fixed resulting data errors.
French startup HyPrSpace has pushed back the first flight of its Baguette One suborbital rocket from 2026 to 2027, according to European Spaceflight. The single-stage, 10-meter vehicle can carry up to 300 kg using a hybrid liquid oxygen and solid polyethylene propulsion system, and will launch from the French defense procurement agency's site at Biscarrosse.
Google plans to launch an experimental satellite called MVP on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base next week, part of its Project Suncatcher initiative. The satellite carries four Tensor Processing Units powered by solar panels generating one kilowatt, roughly matching a single Earth-based server, and is designed to process simple AI requests for up to a year while orbiting for as long as six years before burning up on re-entry.
Google plans to launch a satellite called MVP on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on October 1, carrying four tensor processing units powered by roughly one kilowatt of solar energy. The satellite will process simple AI queries for a year as part of Project Suncatcher, an early-stage effort to test whether AI computing hardware can withstand orbital conditions, and will remain in orbit for six years before burning up on reentry.
SpaceX is reportedly no longer accepting Falcon 9 launch reservations for dates past 2028, even as the rocket remains the workhorse of the global launch market. In 2025, Falcon 9 flew 165 missions with a perfect payload delivery record, accounting for nearly half of all worldwide launches. Elon Musk has said SpaceX will redirect engineering and manufacturing resources from Falcon to Starship once the newer rocket can fly reliably several times a week.
Google will send a satellite carrying its Tensor Processing Units into low Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on October 1st, as part of Project Suncatcher. The mission aims to test how the chips withstand spaceflight stress, radiation, and thermal extremes, with a cooling system using heat pipes and radiators also being trialed. Google plans to launch two more satellites next year as part of a broader effort toward a constellation of chip-equipped satellites.
Satellite operators are finding it harder to book rides to orbit as SpaceX scales back its workhorse rocket in favor of newer vehicles, while competing launch companies have yet to ramp up capacity to match demand. The resulting supply crunch is forcing smaller satellite makers and researchers to compete more aggressively for limited slots.