Fleets of autonomous satellites to coordinate tasks among themselves

Phys.org  March 27, 2019
Working under the CORDIS project NetSat researchers in Germany aim to launch four small satellites, at the end of this year, to orbit the Earth and test formations with varying degrees of autonomy, with light-touch supervision from ground control. Each satellite weighs 3 kilogram and they will be placed in low Earth orbit. The satellites will be able to coordinate with each other over distances from about 100 kilometres down to 10 metres, as well as change their formation depending on the tasks they need to perform. AI can make a satellite aware of its surroundings and decide autonomously when and how to carry out operational tasks. The aim could be to identify specific targets that can be monitored or tracked. Such a satellite could also recognise new events that need monitoring or anomalies demanding action…read more.