TechSat 21 - Space Missions using Collaborating Constellations of Satellites

New technologies for power systems, electronics, micro-electro-mechanical systems, structures, and payloads are enabling significant reduction in the size, cost, and weight of satellites. It is estimated that satellites supplying 1 kW prime power with 1 GFLOP processing capability can be mass-produced at less than 100 kg in the near future. These capable, lightweight, low cost micro-satellites open up new vistas for space system architectures. Concepts are presented which distribute the function of a satellite to a cluster of such micro-satellites flying in formation. It is shown that simply subdividing a satellite into smaller pieces does not in itself offer more efficient ways to do a space mission because of the "overhead" associated with each satellite. However, the spatial distribution provided by a cluster provides new opportunities to perform the mission differently or enhance the satellites' performance, i.e., the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. An example of such collaborating microsatellites performing a space based radar mission is described. The Air Force Research Laboratory's TechSat 21 initiative to more fully explore these concepts is outlined.