The Pentagon Is Investing In Satellite-Repairing Robots

DAPRA (The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), Pentagon’s research division, plans on developing space robots capable of visiting high-altitude satellites and carrying repairs if anything breaks down.

According to Nextgove, the repair-bots will service spacecraft and satellites circling the globe in orbit at about 22,000 miles. The fleet would offer a U.S. Space Force support as well as enabling deeper explorations into space.

On April 18, DARPRA announced that it would organize what is called Proposers Day to any teams or agencies that have plans on building real-world astromech robots in late May.

Once the droids are finished and put into operation, they could help the government, as well as other space agencies, cut down the cost. The reason is that, according to Nextgov, building high-altitude satellites require several expensive redundancies since repairs are often impossible.

DARPA wrote:

If a droid can visit the satellite to fix the malfunctioning components, those redundant parts become unnecessary. It would be likely for satellites to become cheaper and more reliable in the future.

DARPA officials wrote:

If this proves to be successful, not only we could have a robust satellite network, but money can also be invested in other space projects.

For private companies, such robots could become even more important.

Recently, Amazon announced its plan to launch a constellation of satellites into space to provide people with internet access. Similarly, the SpaceX-owned Starlink project is set to launch as many as 800 satellites.

To help lessen the costs of having to replace broken satellites with new ones, companies might seek help from these repairing-robots.