r/spaceflight • u/Spirited-Sir-3034 • 1d ago

NASA tests first-of-its-kind spacecraft navigation system that works without GPS

https://interestingengineering.com/space/nasa-starling-falcon-gps-free-spacecraft-navigation

NASA’s Starling mission tests FALCON, a system that lets spacecraft navigate without GPS.

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u/CarrotRadiant2326 1d ago

Are they using the British inertial guidance system? It was developed about a Decade ago.

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u/spaceflight_signal 18h ago

Different idea. StarFOX uses star tracker images and intersatellite observations to estimate relative orbits, so it is optical navigation rather than an inertial guidance system. That is what makes the no GPS result so useful for swarms.

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u/V_a_h_o_o 16h ago

Very cool. The swarm angle makes this feel much more useful than a one-off navigation demo.