Robotic space servicer envisaged by DARPA
The Pentagon is edging closer to its vision of being able to actively service in-orbit satellites and now hopes to demonstrate a robotic servicing mission within the next five years.
Announcing its plans on 3 September, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) invited the space industry to provide technical information that will support the potential deployment of a robotic servicer in or near geostationary Earth orbit (GEO).
The agency has led several projects in the past decade aimed at breaking the current paradigm of the satellite business, which sees expensive and complex satellites launched into orbit some 36,000km
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