Coming Soon: Swarms of Space Robots

In Earth orbit, a group of shoebox-size spacecraft swarms around the hull of a communication satellite, checking for damage. Further out in the solar system, a flock of glittering reflective spheres, each no bigger than a postage stamp, sweeps past an asteroid, measuring the pull of its gravity. A rain of wafer-thin circuit boards flutters down through the atmosphere of Titan, taking measurements as they fall. Precursors of these future space “swarm” missions are scheduled to begin flying this year. They’ll test basic functions like networking and communication; some will fly just to prove that extremely small, simple satellites can actually work in space. More

(Source: Air & Space Magazine - May 7)