{"id":12561,"date":"2024-09-05T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=12561"},"modified":"2024-08-23T06:45:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T06:45:05","slug":"space-missions-are-getting-more-complex-lessons-from-amazon-and-fedex-can-inform-satellite-and-spacecraft-management-in-orbit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/space-missions-are-getting-more-complex-lessons-from-amazon-and-fedex-can-inform-satellite-and-spacecraft-management-in-orbit\/","title":{"rendered":"Space missions are getting more complex – lessons from Amazon and FedEx can inform satellite and spacecraft management in orbit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n As companies develop satellite constellations as shown in this illustration, they\u2019ll need to repair satellites in orbit.\n NOIRLab\/NSF\/AURA\/P. Marenfeld<\/a>, CC BY-ND<\/a><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\n Koki Ho<\/a>, Georgia Institute of Technology<\/a><\/em> and Mariel Borowitz<\/a>, Georgia Institute of Technology<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Most space mission systems historically have used one spacecraft designed to complete an entire mission independently. Whether it was a weather satellite or a human-crewed module like Apollo, nearly every spacecraft was deployed and performed its one-off mission completely on its own.<\/p>\n\n

But today, space industry organizations are exploring missions with many satellites working together. For example, SpaceX\u2019s Starlink constellations<\/a> include thousands of satellites. And new spacecraft could soon have the capabilities to link up or engage with other satellites in orbit for repairs or refueling. <\/p>\n\n

Some of these spacecraft are already operating and serving customers, such as Northrop Grumman\u2019s mission extension vehicle<\/a>. This orbiting craft has extended the lives of multiple communications satellites<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

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