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Comment by 27183 | Hacker News Reader

Is this the piece of junk that can only run for 15min at a time before it overheats? They probably could have done some more analysis before launching it into space.. Like put the radiator in a vacuum chamber maybe? Or do some thermal modelling? Or did they know it would do this and launch it anyway? Would love to know why.

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The point is not to run longer than 15 min. They knew this before even launching it.

Part of development is prototyping and testing. This is part of a process to learn and inform the design of later versions.

We would have very little science or technology if we did not do such tests.

Did they actually have to launch the thing to do that testing? I think a much simpler and more direct explanation is that it is simply a deceptive marketing stunt. "Hey look we're solving the power problem, don't worry we'll be able to build all these megawatts of compute we promised" when in reality it will never happen and they had no intention of even trying. It's a short term con to try to calm fears in the market that the promises exceed their capabilities.

That is a pretty cynical take. I think it is likely that a lunch would be appropriate for a legitimate development process. They did testing and vacuum and testing with high energy particles on Earth. The cost isn't great to validate those models with the real thing.

I think most people are overestimating the cost and difficulty of compute in space, and underestimating the advantages

I only have cynical takes these days. Tech has been completely taken over by charlatans, scam artists, grifters, and snake oil salesmen. I have zero tolerance for suspending disbelief. They can force me to believe with data, or they're deliberately lying. No middle ground.

Just keep in mind cynicism is a form of self deception.

You aren't punishing them, just hurting yourself. They actually dont care what you think.

..I don't care whether they care what I think. And I'm not trying to punish them? TBH I have no idea what you're trying to say. I don't think I'm "deceiving" myself.. Instead I think I'm on the right end of this. Tech companies are lying these days like it's literally their job. Saying so isn't "deceptive" it's literally just pointing out the obvious.

Could you provide a source for that claim?

Why yes, I sure can!

> The chips can operate for about 15 minutes in space before needing to be shut down so they can cool off, said Travis Beals, Google’s senior director of product management for Project Suncatcher.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/technology/google-suncatc...

Thanks!

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