Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA)
Project Description
The DSA project will enable a swarm of spacecraft to autonomously operate as a single functioning unit, or "collective" to accomplish a common task. The one-year formulation effort will survey existing capabilities and identify technology gaps and a development effort that will mature a capability that can support future spacecraft swarm missions. The next three years of development involve defining the requirements of spacecraft and ground software, deveoping the autonomy software, scaling the autonomy software in a simulation with up to 100 spacecraft, and deploying the spacecraft for operations and experiments.
Anticipated Benefits
Autonomous decision making will be needed for deep-space multi-spacecraft missions due to latency, bandwidth constraints, and mission complexity. Additionally, autonomy can significantly increase the effectiveness of multi-spacecraft missions by operating them as a collective rather than individually.
Primary U.S. Work Locations and Key Partners
| Organizations Performing Work | Role | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Ames Research Center
(ARC)
|
Lead Organization | NASA Center | Moffett Field, California |
Johnson Space Center
(JSC)
|
Supporting Organization | NASA Center | Houston, Texas |
Primary U.S. Work Locations
-
California
