Tags: DARPA, NASA, ATK
Publication: Wired.com
Publication Date: 01/22/2013

Click on the image to watch DARPA’s video on the technical progress made on its Phoenix Project. Image credit: DARPA

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) released a video that details the initial stage of it Phoenix project, which started last year in search for cheaper options for satellite technology. The project envisions stations that can rendezvous with defunct satellites to take working parts that can be used to construct new satellites in orbit.

The video shows how the spacecraft would manage to take a functional antenna off a defunct satellite above geosynchronous orbit to combine it with small, modular “satlets” to create new satellites or extend the life of existing ones. The video combines a computer animation of what the spacecraft would look like in action in four years – the timeframe DARPA has for this project – with real footage from Phoenix’s components at the research lab.

According to reports, cost is the main driver behind the initiative. Being able to assemble a satellite in space would significantly reduce the launch costs. Additionally, reusing parts from defunct orbiting satellites would also help somewhat alleviate the current debris accumulation. But with Phoenix, DARPA also seeks to put the U.S. a step forward in the space and satellite industry.

The $180 million project, however, is a communal effort between different parties. The Naval Research Laboratories’ space-engineering division is designing the main robotic arm used to separate an antenna from a dead satellite and attach it to the network of “satlets” DARPA is building. Other partners include MDA-Canada and US, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, ATK Space, and Altius Space Machines. DARPA also plans to enable the spacecraft to be controlled remotely from Earth as it cuts through a piece of an old satellite.

DARPA still has to demonstrate that the technology is affordable enough to really signify a cost reduction compared to launching a satellite. Tests will continue throughout 2015 but the agency is already planning to host a “proposer’s day” for manufacturers willing to build the “satlets,” robots and other related systems.

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