Google to Test AI Chips in Orbit on SpaceX Transporter-18 Mission

Rocket Lab has booked 20 Electron launches for Synspective, a Japanese radar-imaging company, covering its StriX satellites between 2028 and 2031, in the company's largest Electron contract ever. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the agreement brings Synspective's total Electron missions to 47, more than any other customer, and lifts Rocket Lab's overall backlog past 100 missions. Citi analyst John Godyn initiated coverage with a Buy rating and a $105 price target one day after the contract was announced, calling the stock a core holding for space bulls, and the shares gained 4.7% in premarket trading on October 1. The stock trades at 43.51x forward sales, roughly 50% above its recent historical average of 28.96x, and even on 2029 earnings estimates its P/E stands at 108.88x, supported by forecast earnings growth of about 76% this year and 71% in 2029, along with $2.3 billion in cash against $133.69 million of debt. Hedge fund ownership rose from 43 funds at the end of Q1 2026 to 52 funds at the end of Q2 2026, while short interest remained elevated at 7.31% of float as of September 15, 2026.

Planet Labs PBC has successfully launched 20 satellites aboard SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base, marking its 40th successful launch and bringing the total number of satellites it has built and delivered to orbit to 718. The payload comprised the company's second Tanager satellite, 18 SuperDoves and the first demonstration mission associated with Google's Project Suncatcher. Planet Labs established initial contact with Tanager-2, the Suncatcher prototype and two SuperDove satellites after deployment, while the remaining 16 SuperDoves are expected to be deployed through D-Orbit's ION satellite carrier as planned. The Suncatcher demonstration is designed to test the feasibility of using Google Tensor Processing Units in space for machine-learning workloads, and Tanager-2, developed with Carbon Mapper, carries hyperspectral imaging capable of identifying methane emissions and supporting rare-earth element identification, water-quality monitoring and agricultural intelligence, capturing imagery across 426 contiguous spectral bands at roughly 5-nanometer spectral and 30-meter spatial resolution. The 18 SuperDoves are part of Planet Labs' Flock 4J mission and are expected to add capacity to its PlanetScope constellation, which provides near-daily global monitoring, and the company expects to launch at least three additional Tanager satellites.

The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society, or DE, is testing the feasibility, or POC, of technology from the company Tomorrow.io, which uses low Earth orbit, or LEO, satellites equipped with Microwave Sounder instruments to measure water mass in the atmosphere, with AI helping to process the data so that updates can be issued more frequently than once per hour, approaching real-time reporting. Mr. Chaichanok Chidchob, Minister of Digital Economy and Society, said that after the POC period ends, the ministry is still studying and comparing technologies and the cost-effectiveness of the project, since it takes the form of annual service fees rather than an outright purchase, and the ministry is open to other companies with similar technology coming forward to propose solutions, for transparency and to prevent accusations of locking in specifications. The project will be carried out within the agency's annual budget framework and does not need to be submitted to the Cabinet for approval. At the same time, the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society is also adjusting its disaster warning criteria, from previously waiting for confidence of more than 90% to issuing warnings once the system assesses a risk of about 60-70%, and it is cooperating with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation to push forward the One Map project and to push for data from the Meteorological Department to become open data, as well as designating the spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office as the main person to make announcements during crises.

Rocket Lab completed two back-to-back Electron launches for Synspective in September 2026, extending the customer's synthetic aperture radar constellation. The missions added further satellites to Synspective's commercial Earth observation fleet and continued Rocket Lab's high launch cadence as a dedicated small launch provider for constellation customers. The company has now launched 13 StriX satellites with 100% mission success, a record it uses to argue for a larger share of small lift demand from commercial and government buyers. Investors are watching how many of the 14 remaining StriX launches Rocket Lab completes through the rest of the decade and whether it holds to that schedule.