Google lands in London the week of SpaceX data center talks

Google flew from Long Beach to London Stansted on May 13–14, 2026, aboard Gulfstream G550 N904G, a 10-hour 25-minute transatlantic hop. The aircraft departed KLGB just after 7:56 p.m. UTC and touched down in Essex early the next morning, a routine route for a company that maintains a European hub in the UK.

The same week, Google confirmed it is in talks with SpaceX to launch orbital data centers, per a Bloomberg report and coverage from TechCrunch. The Wall Street Journal reported May 12 that discussion centers on Project Suncatcher, an Alphabet moonshot to test machine learning in space, with prototype satellites planned by 2027. A partnership would mark an unusual thaw between two AI rivals ahead of SpaceX’s anticipated IPO.

The London flight follows a Southern California itinerary: on May 13, N904G flew from an area near Bentonville, Arkansas – likely a business stop – to Long Beach, then onward to the UK. Google’s fleet frequents Stansted for executive travel to Alphabet’s London offices and regulatory meetings. The timing of this trip, landing as the space data-center story breaks, suggests European stakeholders are being briefed on one of the company’s most ambitious infrastructure plays.