In this paper , we present some ideas regarding the modeling , dynamics and control aspects of granular spacecraft . Granular spacecraft are complex multibody systems composed of a spatially disordered distribution of a large number of elements , for instance a cloud of grains in orbit . An example of application is a spaceborne observatory for exoplanet imaging , where the primary aperture is a cloud instead of a monolithic aperture . A model is proposed of the multi - scale dynamics of the grains and cloud in orbit , as well as a control approach for cloud shape maintenance and alignment , and preliminary simulation studies are carried out for the representative imaging system .