CubeSats Showcase Autonomous Flight in NASA's Starling Mission: Orbital Dance

NASA's Starling mission aims to test critical swarm technologies in space with autonomous CubeSats.

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The spacecraft will perform an orbital dance, showcasing their ability to fly together.

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The goal is to demonstrate accurate tracking of positions and trajectories within the swarm.

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The mission is a step towards cost-effective and scalable distributed spacecraft missions.

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Autonomous operation is crucial for swarms operating at considerable distances from Earth.

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The spacecraft will plan and execute activities as a unified group without guidance from mission controllers.

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The key technology being tested is the creation and maintenance of an inter-spacecraft communication network.

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The network will automatically adjust and reconfigure itself to ensure uninterrupted communication for the swarm.

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