DARPA unveils robotic plan to reuse, recycle satellites in 2015

An artist's depiction of the Phoenix hardware platform going to work on the aperture of a defunct satellite.

DARPA

On Tuesday, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced the next stage in an ambitious project called Phoenix, which it hopes will bring about the first demonstration of robotic, in-orbit satellite servicing in 2015.

The servicing, however, won't involve the repair of an existing satellite—instead, one that has already been retired will be scavenged for spare parts. If all goes well, the antenna (or aperture) of the defunct satellite will be linked with one or more small "satlets" that will return it to active duty.

"[Phoenix is a] modest effort to increase the return-on-investment for DoD [Department of Defense] space missions," Dave Barnhart, a DARPA program manager, said at a recent press conference.