NASA’s Starling mission and space situational awareness implications

The Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems (SSDS) program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, expands the ability to execute unique missions through rapid development and demonstration of capabilities for small spacecraft applicable to exploration, science and the commercial space sector. Through targeted development and frequent space testing, the program: enables execution of missions at lower cost than previously possible; reduces the time requirement for development of spacecraft; enables new mission architectures through the use of small spacecraft; expands the reach of small spacecraft to new destinations and challenging new environments; and enables the augmentation of existing assets and future missions supporting small spacecraft.

NASA’s Starling mission is advancing the readiness of various technologies for cooperative groups of spacecraft – also known as distributed missions, clusters, or swarms. Starling is demonstrating technologies to enable multipoint science data collection by several small spacecraft flying in swarms. The mission uses four CubeSats in low-Earth orbit to test four technologies that let spacecraft operate in a synchronized manner without resources from the ground. Starling launched July 17, 2023 from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 in New Zealand. This paper discusses the four technologies carried on Starling with an emphasis on two: Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy (DSA) and Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment (StarFOX).