It ’s like Alien meets Bride of Frankenstein , mixed with Night of the Living Dead : The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ) want to glean portion from numb , non - on the job “ zombi ” satellites to build newfangled one in space , all done remotely via a seizing , mechanically skillful limb .
The agency would like to have the first backbone mission of what is called thePhoenix Programup and running by 2015 , and it late announced that several companies and NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Lab have acquire a part of a $ 36 million contract award to serve develop the technology to assemble new satellite from old , numb ones .
This project would glean larger working parts , such as antennas and solar array from satellites that have otherwise have failed and are still in geosynchronous orbit , 35,000 kilometer ( 22,000 nautical mile ) above Earth . DARPA envisions robotically remove and re - using these parts from decommissioned planet by develop a young class of very small ‘ satlets , ’ similar to nano satellite , which could “ ride along ” other commercial-grade artificial satellite launches , greatly concentrate launch costs , DARPA says .
The satlets would attach themselves to the feeler or solar array of a non - operable planet , murder the part and move it to a dissimilar ambit where a artificial satellite servicing space vehicle is waiting to robotically control on and build a new planet while in orbit . The servicing artificial satellite would be equipped with grasping mechanically skillful arms for remove the satlets and portion . These unique outer space tools are what needs to be modernize for the program .
The automatonlike arms / grappling prick will be controlled remotely from Earth . The pieces will then be reconfigured into a newfangled free - vanish space system and operated independently to demonstrate the concept of space re - use .
DARPA is interested in building communicating satellites to put up 24 - hour communication capableness for the military .
“ Today , when a communicating planet fails , it usually means the expensive aspect of having to launch a brand novel renewal communication planet , ” DARPA ’s Phoenix Program web page says . “ The end of the Phoenix syllabus is to develop and demonstrate technologies to hand in glove glean and re - utilise valuable components from crawl in , nonworking satellites in GEO and demonstrate the ability to create new outer space systems at greatly reduced toll . ”
Among the companies that have a plowshare in create the components needed to make Phoenix a reality are Altius Space Machines , Space Systems / Loral ; Intelsat ; MacDonald , Dettwiler and Associates ; Honeybee Robotics ; and JPL .
Some of the technology DARPA expects to be built for the Phoenix programme include :
Radiation large-minded micro - electronics and memory storage
Industrial robotics terminate effectors and shaft changeout chemical mechanism and technique
Computer - assisted aesculapian robotics micro - operative tele - mien , tools and imaging
Remote imaging / vision engineering
For more info , see theDARPA Phoenix webpage .
This Charles William Post by Nancy Atkinson originally appeared onUniverse Today . Image via DARPA .
CommunicationsDarpasatellitesScienceSpace
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