Patent ID: 11104456

Abstract:
The invention relates to small satellites capable to fly in formation (10), in particular nano- or picosatellites with a mass of 10 kg or less, for LEO applications, comprising a housing (12) and at least one plug-in board (14) arranged in the housing (12) with a predetermined functionality and a propulsion system (16) for generating a directed pulse in the direction of the flight trajectory Tk.It is proposed that the small satellite (10) comprises an independent and autonomously working collision avoidance system (18), which is capable of adapting a trajectory correction Tkk of the trajectory Tk by the propulsion system (16), when a collision with an object (30) is expected.In a further independent aspect, the invention relates to a formation (100) composed of several small satellites capable to fly in formation (10), wherein a relative position and flight trajectory Tk of each small satellite (10) is modifiable via the independently and autonomously working collision avoidance system (18).