Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Space
Space
Science
Elizabeth Howell

NASA satellites ace world's 1st 'lost-in-space' GPS-free navigation experiment

The Starling swarm’s extended mission tested GPS-independent navigation, using onboard star tracking for self-orbit determination and space object catalog updates.

No GPS available in space? A satellite experiment may have a solution for that.

NASA's Starling mission — made up of a swarm of four cubesats in low Earth orbit (LEO) — is testing out navigation by using other satellites as moving landmarks. The hope is that this tech will allow future missions to navigate if GPS is not available.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.