Countries are focusing on developing Autonomous satellites.
- In 2024, China has successfully launched the world’s first ‘self-driving’ satellites; they can autonomously maintain or change flight paths without ground intervention.
About Autonomous Satellites
- These are satellites designed to perform their functions with minimal to no human intervention by utilizing a suite of advanced technologies and algorithms like Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- These technologies are transforming satellites from passive observers into active, thinking machines.
- The onboard intelligence is referred as satellite edge computing and allows satellites to analyse their environment and make decisions.
Key Applications
- Automated space operations: Independent manoeuvring in space to perform tasks like docking, inspections, in-orbit refuelling, and debris removal.
- Self-diagnosis and repair: Monitoring their own health, identifying faults, and executing repairs without human intervention.
- Route planning: Optimising orbital trajectories to avoid hazards and obstacles or to save fuel.
- Targeted geospatial intelligence: Detecting disasters and other events of interest in real-time from orbit and coordinating with other satellites intelligently to prioritise areas of interest.
- Combat support: Providing real-time threat identification and potentially enabling autonomous target tracking and engagement, directly from orbit.
Key Concern associated with Autonomous Satellite
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