Wednesday, July 12, 2006
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- NASA scientists said that they are ready to test 'smart' satellites that could fly in precision formation and are comparatively inexpensive to make and operate.
David Miller, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Space Systems Laboratory, says such satellites may be used for such tasks as building huge space telescopes and closely monitoring Earth.
The shuttle Discovery last week delivered the second of three satellite examination 'droids' that are undergoing experiments at the International Space Station.
'I rented the first 'Star Wars' movie and showed (a) class the scene where Luke is practicing the use of the Force with a floating droid,' Miller told the Christian Science Monitor. 'I said: 'I want three of those. How do we start doing this?'
The results came in the type of 9-pound spheres the size of bowling balls, each crowded with computers, sensors and thrusters that let the satellites to maneuver individually and en masse with precision.
A third satellite is to land at the ISS in December.
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@ 1:35 AM
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