Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

CTOnews.com, July 12 (Xinhua)-- the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is planning to launch a batch of small satellites to test whether they can work independently in space. The project is called "Starling". These satellites will try to cooperate with each other in space without any instructions from ground operators, and NASA hopes the technology will help deep space exploration missions, where communication between satellites and Earth usually takes a long time.

The ▲ Tuyuan PexelsStarling project, which will consist of four small cube satellites, is expected to be launched later this month, developed by NASA's Ames Research Center. After launch, the satellite will fly at an altitude of 355 miles above the earth, 40 miles away from each other.

The plan will test whether satellites can communicate with each other independently, record each other's positions, adjust their positioning based on sensor data collected by one of the spacecraft, and maneuver to maintain formation. The sensors on the satellites will track their direction relative to the Earth and between each other to ensure that the clusters operate as expected, and each satellite will track each other using star positioning without the need for operator instructions.

These satellites will also accomplish a secondary goal, which is to integrate with SpaceX's star chain satellites. Star chain is currently the largest artificial satellite constellation in the world, consisting of thousands of small satellites operating in low Earth orbit (LEO), which can provide global Internet connection.

SpaceX and NASA will share future trajectory data with each other to demonstrate whether different organizations can safely coordinate their operations. The mission with the chain, called Starling 1.5 by NASA, is also part of a broader space traffic management plan for the future, as more and more satellite companies are planning to launch chain-like constellations and future low-Earth orbits will be more crowded.

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