Fractionated spacecraft

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title: "Fractionated spacecraft" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["spaceflight-technology", "darpa-projects"] topic_path: "general/spaceflight-technology" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractionated_spacecraft" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/FractionatedSpacecraft1.jpg" caption="Artist's impression of a fractionated spacecraft"] ::

A fractionated spacecraft is a satellite architecture where the functional capabilities of a conventional monolithic spacecraft are distributed across multiple modules which interact through wireless links. Unlike other aggregations of spacecraft, such as constellations and clusters, the modules of a fractionated spacecraft are largely heterogeneous and perform distinct functions corresponding, for instance, to the various subsystem elements of a traditional satellite.

History

The term "fractionated spacecraft" appears to have been coined by Owen Brown and Paul Eremenko in a series of 2006 papers,{{cite conference |first = Owen |last = Brown |author2 = Eremenko, Paul |title = The Value Proposition for Fractionated Space Architectures |book-title = AIAA Space 2006 |pages = Paper No. AIAA–2006–7506 |publisher = American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics |year = 2006 |location = San Jose, CA |url = http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMSPACE06_1393/PV2006_7506.pdf |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090319062446/http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMSPACE06_1393/PV2006_7506.pdf |archive-date = 2009-03-19 |first = Owen |last = Brown |author2 = Eremenko, Paul |title = Fractionated Space Architectures: A Vision for Responsive Space |book-title = 4th Responsive Space Conference |pages = Paper No. AIAA-RS4-2006-1002 |publisher = American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics |year = 2006 |location = Los Angeles, CA |url = http://www.responsivespace.com/Papers/RS4%5CPapers%5CRS4_1002P_Eremenko.pdf |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100217000931/http://www.responsivespace.com/Papers/RS4/Papers/RS4_1002P_Eremenko.pdf |archive-date = 2010-02-17 |first = O. |last = Brown |author2 = Eremenko, P. |author3 = Roberts, C. |title = Cost-Benefit Analysis of a Notional Fractionated SATCOM Architecture |book-title = 24th International Communications Satellite Systems Conference |pages = Paper No. AIAA–2006–5328 |publisher = American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics |year = 2006 |location = San Diego, CA |url = http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMICSSC06_1269/PV2006_5328.pdf |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090319062445/http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMICSSC06_1269/PV2006_5328.pdf |archive-date = 2009-03-19 which argue that a fractionated architecture offers more flexibility and robustness than traditional satellite design during mission operations, and during the design and procurement.

The idea dates back to at least a 1984 article by P. Molette.{{cite journal | last = Molette | first = P. |author2= Cougnet, C.|author3= Saint-Aubert, PH.|author4= Young, R.W.|author5= Helas, D. | title = Technical and Economical Comparison Between a Modular Geostationary Space Platform and a Cluster of Satellites | journal = Acta Astronautica | volume = 12 | issue = 11 | pages = 771–784 | publisher = Pergamon Press Ltd. | year = 1984 | doi = 10.1016/0094-5765(84)90097-3 | bibcode = 1984AcAau..11..771M}} Molette's, and later analyses by Rooney, concluded that the benefits of fractionated spacecraft were outweighed by their higher mass and cost. By 2006, Brown and his collaborators{{cite conference |first = Owen |last = Brown |author2 = Long, Andrew |author3 = Shah, Naresh |author4 = Eremenko, Paul |title = System Lifecycle Cost Under Uncertainty as a Design Metric Encompassing the Value of Architectural Flexibility |book-title = AIAA Space 2007 |pages = Paper No. AIAA–2007–6023 |publisher = American Institute of Aeronautics & Astronautics |year = 2007 |location = Long Beach, CA |url = http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMSPACE07_1808/PV2007_6023.pdf |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090319062448/http://pdf.aiaa.org/preview/CDReadyMSPACE07_1808/PV2007_6023.pdf |archive-date = 2009-03-19 claim that the option value of flexibility, the insurance value of improved robustness, and mass production effects will exceed any penalties, and make an analogy with distributed clusters of personal computers (PCs) which are overtaking supercomputers. A 2006 study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology appears to have corroborated this latter view.

Development

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/FractionatedSpacecraft2.svg"] ::

In 2007, DARPA, the Pentagon's advanced technology organization, issued an announcement soliciting proposals for a program entitled System F6, which aims to prove "the feasibility and benefits" of a fractionated satellite architecture through a space demonstration. The program appears to emphasize wireless networking as a critical technical enabler, along with econometric modeling to assess if and when the architecture is advantageous over conventional approaches {{cite conference | first = Mohsen | last = Mosleh |author2=Dalili, Kia |author3=Heydari, Babak | title = Optimal Modularity for Fractionated Spacecraft: The Case of System F6 | book-title = Procedia Computer Science | pages = 164–170 | publisher = elsevier | year = 2014 |doi=10.1016/j.procs.2014.03.021 | doi-access = free

DARPA called for open-source development of the networking and communications protocols and interfaces for the fractionated spacecraft modules. This unusual step was presumably in an effort to proliferate the concept and mirror in space the development of the terrestrial Internet.

In 2008, DARPA announced that contracts for the preliminary development phase of the System F6 program were issued to teams headed by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Orbital Sciences.

In December 2009 the second phase of the program was awarded to Orbital Sciences, along with IBM and JPL.

In February 2010, the European Space Agency (ESA) completed a study on fractionated satellites under the GSTP program.{{cite report|title=Fractionated Satellites Executive Summary |url=https://nebula.esa.int/sites/default/files/neb_study/1022/C22258ExS.pdf |date=February 2010 |publisher=ESA|access-date=March 11, 2025}}

On May 16, 2013, DARPA confirmed that they cancelled the Formation-flying Satellite Demo, which means that they closed the project.

ANDESITE is a fractionated spacecraft with 8 components, and was launched on June 13, 2020.

Miscellaneous

Fractionating a communications satellite mission appears to be subject to , "Satellite cluster comprising a plurality of modular satellites".

References

References

  1. Rooney, Kevin. (August 2006). "An Exercise in Spacecraft Mission Fractionation". Boeing.
  2. (2007). "System F6". DARPA.
  3. "DARPA awards contracts for fractionated spacecraft program".
  4. "DARPA awards contract for detailed design of fractionated spacecraft program".
  5. "DARPA Cancels Formation-flying Satellite Demo".
  6. (5 August 2018). "ANDESITE: A Student-Built Swarm from Concept to Launch and Beyond". [[Utah State University.
  7. Krebs, Gunter. (9 May 2020). "ANDESITE". Gunter's Space Page.

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