A New Formation Flying/Satellite Swarm Concept

NASA needs a method of not only propelling and rotating small satellites, but also to track their position and orientation. We propose a concept that will, for the first time, demonstrate both tracking and propulsion simultaneously in the same system. NASA plans to build a lab bench operational system capable of tracking the position and orientation of small satellites as well as producing forces and torques on them. The goal is to be able to direct a satellite to move to various positions and orientations and then see how well it can accomplish this. The position resolution achieved is a major goal of the project. We have previously demonstrated one directional forces and single torques to a satellite. We analyzed this and published a technique to extend it to more dimensions. This project began on May 1st 2014. As results are developed more information will be provided to this site. More »