Google launches Project Suncatcher to test whether AI computing can move into orbit

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s central purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To announce a completed orbital data-center network
   2. To explain an experiment and evaluate its future implications
   3. To compare competing AI models used in orbit
   4. To criticize Google’s investment in terrestrial facilities
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To explain an experiment and evaluate its future implications

   It presents the experiment while assessing its wider significance and limitations.

   However, Project Suncatcher remains a preliminary experiment rather than an operational data center.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What can be inferred from the satellite’s fifteen-minute operating limit?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The satellite lacks sufficient computing power
   2. The model cannot answer complex questions
   3. Managing heat restricts continuous operation
   4. Laser communication fails after fifteen minutes
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Managing heat restricts continuous operation

   The limit indicates that thermal management remains a significant technical challenge.

   That limit reflects heat-management constraints, while the initial tasks will involve answering simple queries.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   In the third paragraph, “those connections” refers to connections between what?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. TPUs and Gemma models
   2. Satellites and terrestrial data centers
   3. Satellites, and satellites with Earth
   4. Google and its aerospace suppliers
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Satellites, and satellites with Earth

   The preceding sentence identifies links among satellites and between satellites and Earth.

   Google plans to place two more satellites in orbit next year to test those connections.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention Pichai’s projected capital expenditures?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To establish Google’s financial difficulty
   2. To quantify the pressures driving infrastructure expansion
   3. To prove orbital computing is already profitable
   4. To explain Planet’s role in the project
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To quantify the pressures driving infrastructure expansion

   The figure illustrates the scale of investment demanded by expanding AI infrastructure.

   The scale of that investment reflects the energy and hardware requirements of increasingly capable AI systems.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized overall?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Historical background followed by a detailed biography
   2. Technical test, broader rationale, limitations, and related efforts
   3. Financial analysis followed by a criticism of space research
   4. A comparison of three completed satellite networks
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Technical test, broader rationale, limitations, and related efforts

   It moves from the prototype’s operation to its rationale, limitations, and competitors.

   Other companies are exploring similar ideas: Starcloud has demonstrated AI computing from a spacecraft, and SpaceX has said it expects to begin deploying orbital AI satellites as early as 2028.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the article establish between solar power and terrestrial opposition?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Opposition makes solar power unavailable in orbit
   2. Solar access may reduce concerns surrounding terrestrial facilities
   3. Terrestrial facilities prevent satellites from using solar power
   4. Opposition has already halted Google’s orbital plans
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Solar access may reduce concerns surrounding terrestrial facilities

   Orbital solar access is presented as attractive amid resistance to energy-intensive facilities.

   Orbiting data centers could provide sustained access to solar power, an attraction for companies facing rising opposition to energy-intensive facilities on Earth.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What limitation qualifies the article’s discussion of orbital data centers?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The satellite has not yet reached orbit
   2. The experiment tests chips, not a functioning data center
   3. Google has abandoned plans for additional satellites
   4. The prototype uses chips made by another company
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The experiment tests chips, not a functioning data center

   The proposal remains unproven and currently involves only a minimal test.

   Google describes the current satellite as a minimal test of whether its chips can function in space.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.