Google, Planet Labs launch prototype AI satellite on SpaceX rocket

[View of Google office sign.] Google (GOOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG]) (GOOGL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOGL]) said Thursday its prototype satellite for Project Suncatcher, built in partnership with Planet Labs (PL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/PL]), launched into orbit aboard the Transporter-18 rideshare mission with SpaceX (SPCX [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/SPCX]). The tech giant said its team has confirmed contact with the satellite, and it is operating as expected. "This is the first step in a long-term research moonshot exploring whether space could one day host scalable machine learning infrastructure," Travis Beals, senior director of Project Suncatcher, wrote in a blog post following the launch.