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An illustration released by DARPA which shows a satellite used for DARPA's Phoenix program. AP Photo/DARPA

Pentagon researches ways to scavenge retired satellites... in space

The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is planning to launch a demonstration mission in 2016.

CALL IT SPACE grave robbery for a cause: Imagine scavenging defunct communication satellites for their valuable parts and recycling them to build brand new ones for cheap.

It’s the latest pet project from the Pentagon’s research wing known for its quirky and sometimes out-there ideas. The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency is spending $180 million to test technologies that could make this possible.

When satellites retire, certain parts – such as antennas and solar panels – often still work. There’s currently no routine effort to salvage and reuse satellite parts once they’re launched into space.

DARPA thinks it can save money by repurposing in orbit.

“We’re attempting to essentially increase the return on investment… and try to find a way to really change the economics so that we can lower the cost” of military space missions, said DARPA program manager David Barnhart.

Work on DARPA’s Phoenix program – named after the mythical bird that rose from its own ashes – is already under way. The agency awarded contracts to several companies to develop new technologies, and it is seeking fresh proposals from interested parties next month.

A key test will come in 2016 when it launches a demonstration mission that seeks to breathe new life to an antenna from a yet-to-be-determined decommissioned satellite. DARPA has identified about 140 retired satellites that it can choose from for its first test.

Here’s the vision: Launch a robotic mechanic outfitted with a toolkit that can rendezvous with defunct satellites and mine them for parts. The plan also calls for the separate launch of mini-satellites. The robotic mechanic would then string together the mini-satellites and old satellite parts to create a new communication system.

It’s like doing robotic surgery in zero gravity.

DARPA officials said one way to keep costs down is for the mini-satellites to hitch a ride aboard available space on commercial rockets.

Harvard astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell, who tracks the world’s space launches and satellites, called it “an interesting idea” that may reduce costs in the long-term.

“The first few times you do this, it’ll definitely be more expensive than just building the new antenna on your satellite from scratch. But in the long run, it might work out,” he said in an email.

McDowell said the biggest challenge in the upcoming demo test is separating the antenna from the retired satellite without breaking it and then successfully integrating it with the mini-satellites.

DARPA is used to funding blue-sky research and a few projects are slowly becoming reality.

In 2011, it dangled seed money to jumpstart a way to rocket people to a star within a century in what’s known as the 100-year Starship program.

Long before Google tested self-driving cars, DARPA sponsored a robotic road race in which university-designed autonomous vehicles eyed for the finish line without human help.

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4 Comments
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    Mute John Johnes
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    Apr 13th 2022, 12:19 PM

    My god do these people live in the same reality?

    Id love to see her singing the same song about climate nonsense if she would be on 30k a year needing to provide for her family renting out a house for 1.9k

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    Mute conriel
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    Apr 13th 2022, 1:44 PM

    @John Johnes: Well said If these people had to endure the pain they are enforcing on people the situation would be very different, This Government does not give a flying F*** IF a loaf of bread is 20 euro, they have made sure it wont effect them or their family or close friends. We’re is a downward spiral again and those with the so called experience are making life worse by the day, they simple do not have the intelligence and knowledge to run a country, God help us.

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    Mute Joe_X
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    Apr 13th 2022, 7:11 PM

    @both of ye.. ever think she is just reporting on the subject she is being paid for? It is like how ye give out about NPHET, but they were reporting on the subject they were being paid for, and government made the decisions.

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    Mute Darren Mc Mahon
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    Apr 13th 2022, 12:20 PM

    “Better balance” down the road perhaps but right now it’s a real struggle for those living in the real world.

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    Mute Michael McGrath
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    Apr 13th 2022, 2:05 PM

    The whole thing is a load of sheight anyway net zero. Net zero means we may still have the same carbon output but we have offset it by having more electric cars and windmills. In other words industrial carbon can remain the same but the plebs have to drive mad expensive electric cars, cycle or walk to work and retrofit their homes mostly at their own expense. Surely even the most ardent climate activist must see through the fact that all the measures are aimed at the small sinner rather than the large industrial abuser

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    Mute Dr. Emmett Lathrop Brown
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    Apr 13th 2022, 12:59 PM

    Agree with the goals, but for now, more RealLife™ advices would be good.

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