Companies including SpaceX and Starcloud are pursuing plans to deploy data centres in low Earth orbit, aiming to harness near-continuous sunlight to power energy-intensive AI computing and sidestep terrestrial constraints on electricity supplies.

The new mission, scheduled to fly on SpaceX’s upcoming Transporter-18 rideshare launch in partnership with satellite company Planet Labs, will assess how Google’s AI hardware withstands launch forces, radiation and extreme temperatures in low Earth orbit.

After the launch, it will send a prototype satellite carrying Google Tensor Processing Units (TPUs) into low Earth orbit to assess if the AI chips can operate reliably in space.

Space radiation can disrupt or degrade electronics, including by causing data errors known as bit flips.

Google said it tested its TPUs while running AI workloads in a facility at the University of California, Davis, but that orbital testing was needed to understand how the hardware performs in the real environment.

The company will also evaluate its design to cool the power-intensive chips in the vacuum of space, where conventional airflow cooling is impossible, by combining heat pipes with radiators.

But experts have said that the concept remains years from being commercially viable given high launch costs, engineering constraints and satellite production bottlenecks.

The first Suncatcher mission is designed to gather in-orbit data and identify potential failure points, rather than demonstrate an operational orbital data centre, Google said.

It aims to launch two satellites in 2027 to test the high-bandwidth laser links needed to connect future computing clusters.

⚡️🇵🇰 Pakistan has launched AIRSTRIKES on 10 locations across Afghanistan, targeting terrorist hideouts and support infrastructure, including drone launch and storage sites linked to attacks on Pakistan.

The strikes targeted facilities in areas under Afghan Taliban control. pic.twitter.com/k2E3G80i97

— Zard si Gana (@ZardSi) September 24, 2026

'Precise, Calibrated and Proportionate'

In a statement posted on X, Tarar said the strikes were conducted under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq and described them as "deliberate, precise, calibrated and proportionate." He stated that the targets were limited to militant infrastructure directly tied to cross-border attacks.

The strikes targeted facilities in areas under Afghan Taliban control, including locations in Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost provinces. According to security sources, the operation destroyed 10 sites comprising terrorist hideouts, drone launch pads, and storage facilities.

Response to Drone Incursions

The airstrikes followed the interception of multiple drones launched from Afghan territory into Pakistani airspace on September 23. According to security officials, Pakistan's air defences detected, tracked, and neutralised eight drones — four near the Torkham border and four in the hills near Kohat.

Minister Tarar stated that the strikes were a direct response to these incursions and warned that "any further provocation will invite a resolute response."

Taliban Denies Responsibility, Claims Civilian Casualties

Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid denied that the group launched drones toward Pakistan and condemned the strikes as a "flagrant violation" of Afghan sovereignty. He claimed that four civilians were killed in the bombing across Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost provinces, and vowed an "appropriate response."

A resident of Kandahar city told AFP he heard the sound of a jet followed by a large explosion and saw fire in the city centre. Kandahar is the spiritual heartland of the Taliban movement and the seat of its supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada.

Second Strike in Four Days

This marks the second Pakistani airstrike inside Afghanistan in four days. On September 21, Pakistan targeted what it described as militant camps and suicide-bomb training facilities in eastern Afghanistan, claiming 28 militants were killed. That operation came in the wake of a suicide attack on the Kohat Police Lines mosque, which killed at least 16 people, including five police officers.

Pakistan has repeatedly accused the Afghan Taliban government of harbouring and facilitating the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and allied groups. Kabul denies these allegations and has summoned Pakistan's envoy in protest.

Regional Implications

The strikes risk further destabilising already fragile relations between Islamabad and Kabul. Talks between the two sides in Doha reportedly failed to produce results, with Taliban officials saying Pakistan demanded the Taliban take responsibility for Pakistan's internal security — a demand Kabul rejected.