The US Space Force has awarded a 1.6 million contract to a team led by the California startup Arkisys. It will have to demonstrate the assembly of a satellite in near-Earth orbit.
The satellite being assembled will consist of at least three Novawurks Slegos box-shaped modules, which provide capabilities such as pointing, information processing and data storage. Apparently, it will also be equipped with a camera and some additional tools to demonstrate the usefulness of the spacecraft assembled in orbit.
The assembly will be carried out using a robotic arm installed on the Arkisys space platform. The development team hopes that they will be able to demonstrate the possibility of assembling precise robotic connections, interfaces and controls. In addition, they will have to solve a number of problems related to operations. For example, the work of a robotic arm will give momentum to a space platform. Engineers will have to find ways to maintain its stability.
According to the project participants, the space assembly will not only open new markets in near-Earth orbit, but it can also significantly affect projects for the exploration of the Moon and Mars. In addition to Arkisys, iBoss Space and Novawurks (they will provide hardware and software interfaces), Motiv (robotic arm) and Qediq (it will help build a universal interface adapter for connecting the spacecraft payload) are also participating in the project.
Earlier we talked about a student satellite that received energy from 48 finger batteries.
According to https://spacenews.com
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