This quarter I am teaching the class "Dynamics, Navigation, and Control of Distributed Space Systems (DSS)" at Stanford (AA279D). DSS are defined as two or more spacecraft that interact to accomplish objectives otherwise very difficult or impossible to achieve by a single monolithic system. So the subject includes rendezvous and proximity operations, formation-flying, swarming, all the way to constellations.
In AA279D, students learn astrodynamics of relative motion, multi-satellite guidance and control, relative navigation techniques, and implement the algorithms into a full multi-satellite GNC software simulation for a mission of their choice.
Since I had the fortune to work on several such missions in the past (PRISMA, TanDEM-X, BIROS, STARLING, and more recently VISORS, SWARM-EX, and STARI), the class gives me the opportunity to provide insights and lessons learned from actual DSS, including critical assessment of flightdata and their performance.
I think this is the right space course for the new proliferated era of spaceflight! Let me know what you think in the comments and enjoy some of the historical milestones on the birth and evolution of DSS below.
