Google's Gulfstream returns to San Jose amid talks with SpaceX on orbital data centers

Google flew its Gulfstream G550 (N10XG) from Teterboro to San Jose on May 15, arriving after a 5-hour, 22-minute flight. The aircraft, part of a fleet that has long shuttled executives between East Coast meetings and California headquarters, touched down at Mineta San Jose International Airport rather than the nearby Moffett Field, where Google maintains a controversial 60-year lease.

The return trip comes days after reports that Google is in talks with SpaceX to launch orbital data centers, a concept known as Project Suncatcher. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 12 that Google is seeking to use SpaceX rockets to test machine-learning workloads in space, with CEO Sundar Pichai calling orbital data centers "inevitable" within a decade [bloomberg.com](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-05-12/google-in-talks-to-use-spacex-to-launch-space-data-centers-wsj). The potential partnership follows SpaceX's $1.75 trillion IPO plans and its February acquisition of xAI, which aims to put 1 million data satellites in orbit [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/05/12/report-google-and-spacex-in-talks-to-put-data-centers-into-orbit/).

Google's N10XG has made frequent stops at Teterboro in recent weeks, including a round trip on May 11 and a leg to London Stansted on May 13. The company's aviation history at Moffett Field has drawn scrutiny: a 2007 NASA deal offered sweetheart access in exchange for scientific equipment, but only 155 of over 1,000 flights served research, according to the Tech Transparency Project [techtransparencyproject.org](https://www.techtransparencyproject.org/articles/fighter-jet-and-friends-congress-how-google-got-access-nasa-airfield). Now, Google's orbital ambitions may give new meaning to its motto—though experts caution that space-based GPUs face radiation and cooling hurdles [engadget.com](https://www.engadget.com/2171194/google-is-reportedly-considering-working-with-spacex-on-orbital-data-centers/).