Breaking news: The first flight results from the check-out and commissioning of the Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment (StarFOX).
It took about 10 years to achieve the objective I set for the Stanford Space Rendezvous Laboratory. Namely to develop and demonstrate autonomous satellite swarming algorithms in orbit together with my students. Is it space-based situational awareness? Is it autonomous navigation in deep space? Is it autonomous co-location of swarming satellites? Yes, it is all of these things combined for a new era of sustainable space exploration!
The video below presents the first optical relative navigation flight results for a swarm of spacecraft using only inter-satellite bearing angles. On the left, photographs are taken every minute by one spacecraft of the Starling swarm, and visible objects are classified as other swarm members, stars, or background clutter. Two swarm members are visible and their angular positions in the image are used to estimate their relative orbits, shown on the right. Initial orbit errors (lines) and formal uncertainties (shaded regions) are reduced over time as new angle measurements are obtained by the camera and processed sequentially. Even under very challenging conditions, due to inconsistent target illumination (eclipses) and minimal target motion, the angles-only Absolute and Relative Trajectory Measurement System (ARTMS) is able to demonstrate relative navigation to multiple resident space objects using only inter-satellite bearing angles matching accuracy from on-ground hardware-in-the-loop tests.
Acknowledgments: Justin Kruger (graduating this week!) and Space Rendezvous Laboratory Starling is funded by NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Small Spacecraft Technology program based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley and within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington.
