This July, NASA will launch four batches of six-unit (6U) CubeSats into Earth orbit to test whether they can work together on their own independent of real-time updates from flight control. While this type of autonomous collaboration may not seem too difficult for humans, this team will be robotics – small satellites that will test key technologies for future deep space missions where more sophisticated and autonomous spacecraft will be required.

Mission and formation

Once launched, CubeSats will operate in two different formations, testing several technologies that could pave the way for the future of collaborative satellite swarms in deep space. The mission, called Starling, will take at least six months. It will place the spacecraft approximately 355 miles above Earth, with a distance of about 40 miles between them.

Meaning of Starling

“The capabilities that Starling and small spacecraft groups provide for autonomous command and control will expand NASA’s capabilities for future science and research missions,” said Roger Hunter, program manager for NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program at Ames Research Center in California. Silicon valley. “This mission is an important step forward.”

NASA is sending groups of four CubeSats into Earth orbit to test whether they can work together on their own without real-time updates from flight control. While this type of autonomous collaboration may not seem too difficult for humans, this team will be robotic – made up of small satellites that will test key technologies for future deep space missions. Credit: NASA Ames Research Center

Herd targets and technology

Starling’s four main goals include maneuvering autonomously to stay in group, creating a flexible communication network between spacecraft, tracking each other’s relative positions, and autonomously responding to new sensor information to initiate new actions. Essentially, Starling aims to create a swarm of small satellites that can function as an autonomous community, responding to their environment, and working as a team.

Swarm technologies have the potential to collect scientific data from many points in space, create self-healing networks, and control spacecraft systems that do not need constant contact with Earth to respond to changes in the environment. These swarms also offer redundancy, making the collective system more resilient to individual spacecraft failure. If one fails, others can make up for it.

NASA’s six-month Starling mission will use groups of four CubeSats in low Earth orbit to test technologies that allow the spacecraft to operate in sync without resources from Earth. These technologies will improve the planning and execution of swarm maneuvers, communication networks, relative navigation, and autonomous coordination between spacecraft. Credits: NASA/Concept Imaging Lab/Ross Walter

Testing new technologies

Starling’s first mission is to test four new technologies. The first, known as ROMEO (Onboard Reconfiguration and Trajectory Maintenance Experiments), is test software designed to autonomously plan and execute maneuvers without direct operator input. In the context of Starling, this would allow satellites to fly in a cluster, autonomously mapping and executing orbits.

Advanced communication and tracking systems

Mobile ad hoc network (MANET) is a communication system consisting of wireless devices through which data is automatically routed and transmitted according to network conditions. An example in the world is the network Wi-Fi, where multiple Internet routers are placed throughout the house, allowing mobile devices to automatically connect to the strongest signal. Likewise, the Starling spacecraft has crosstalk radios that allow the spacecraft to communicate while in range, with onboard MANET software determining the best way to route traffic over the satellite network. Starling will test this network to show whether the system can automatically create a network in space over time.

Each CubeSat also has its own “star tracking” sensors on board, typically used to allow the satellite to track its direction in space, similar to how sailors use the stars to navigate at night. Because the satellites will be relatively close together apart from the stars, these sensors will pick up light from the spacecraft and use special software to monitor the rest of the swarm. This unique use of traditional spacecraft sensors, called StarFOX (Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment), will keep the swarm together against the backdrop of the stars.

Advanced data collection

Finally, the Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA) experiment demonstrates the ability of a group of spacecraft to collect and analyze onboard science data and jointly optimize data collection in response. The satellites will monitor the Earth’s ionosphere, which is part of the upper atmosphere, and if something interesting is detected, they will transmit messages to other satellites to observe the same phenomenon. The ability of satellites to respond autonomously to observations will improve science data collection for many of NASA’s future science missions.

future cooperation

Once the primary mission is complete, Starling’s next step will be to partner with SpaceX’s Starlink satellite group to test advanced methods for managing space traffic between autonomous spacecraft operated by different organizations. In sharing future orbits with each other, NASA and SpaceX will demonstrate an automated system that ensures the safe operation of both sets of satellites while in relative proximity in low Earth orbit.

Solution

“Starling 1.5 will be the foundation for space traffic management to help understand the rules of the road,” Hunter said.

With robots playing a critical role in both manned and unmanned exploration, the ability to operate satellites and spacecraft in a networked, autonomous and coordinated manner is a top priority for NASA. This is a step taken so that humanity can go further and achieve higher scientific results in the future. Source