NASA extends Starling satellite swarm mission to test autonomous navigation

NASA is extending its Starling mission, a technology demonstration involving a swarm of four CubeSats in low Earth orbit, until at least 2028. The mission is testing autonomous navigation capabilities that do not rely on GPS or continuous communication with Earth-based control centers.

Through the FALCON (Fast Autonomous Lost-in-space Catalog-based Optical Navigation) experiment, conducted in collaboration with industry partner EraDrive, the satellites use onboard star tracking and other satellites as moving landmarks to determine their own positions. This ability to function as a coordinated swarm provides redundancy, as the system can remain operational even if individual units fail.

These advancements are intended to support future deep-space missions, including lunar satellite swarms and human exploration efforts like the Artemis program. While NASA focuses on civilian applications, the technology also holds interest for the U.S. Department of Defense regarding positioning, navigation, and timing (PNT) capabilities in space.