Floating Battle Droids On Board ISS

By Nancy Atkinson - November 6, 2008 at 8:27 AM UTC | Space Exploration
spheres-2.jpg

[/caption] Three free-flying spheres are currently zooming around inside the International Space Station. Is the crew of Expedition 18 using them to hone their light-saber battle skills

a la

Luke Skywalker or sharpen their ability to detect UFOs? No, these bowling-ball sized spherical satellites are part of an experiment devised by students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to test autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers for future formation flying spacecraft. Called SPHERES – which stands for Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites -- these color-coded robots are flying inside the ISS, testing different flight formations. But these have to be a lot of fun to play with during off hours on the space station: zero-g bowling or space volleyball, anyone?

[caption id="attachment_20764" align="alignnone" width="580" caption="Astronauts Greg Chamitoff, Mike Fincke and spaceflight participant Richard Garriott posed with SPHERES. Credit: NASA"]

[/caption] Each satellite is self-contained with power, propulsion, computers and navigation equipment. The results are important for satellite servicing, vehicle assembly and formation flying spacecraft configurations. One future formation flying mission is the Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer, which will use multiple small vehicles flying in formation to create an orbiting infrared interferometer. [caption id="attachment_20765" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="Terrestrial Planet Finder Interferometer array."]

[/caption] If successful, these mini-satellites, and their potentially larger versions, would be able to refuel/repair other satellites, establish positioning around space-based telescopes, and support space docking routines. So, battle droids would become maintenance droids.

And smaller, multiple satellite missions are economical and provide redundancy. Instead of launching one big, heavy satellite, launching lots of little is easier. They can orbit Earth in tandem, each doing their own small part of the overall mission. If a solar flare zaps one satellite—no problem. The rest can close ranks and carry on. Launch costs are reduced, too, because tiny satellites can hitch a ride inside larger payloads, getting to space almost free of charge.

The SPHERES can also test the ability to build spaceships in orbit. One way to build a larger ship to go to, for instance, Mars, is to assemble it piece by piece in Earth orbit. The SPHERES are helping engineers design software that could be used to maneuver the pieces of a spaceship together.

Sources:

Science@NASA

,

NASA

,

MIT

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com