Project description
Enabling self-driving nanosatellites in deep space
CubeSats are miniature satellites made of 10 cm3 modular units. Units can be stacked to carry more payload or work together in constellations depending on their mission. Initially created as affordable educational tools, thousands have been launched into low-Earth orbit to provide Earth observation, environmental monitoring and new technology demonstrations for both governmental and commercial entities. However, they rely on ground control facilities during cruise phase, which would be costly to maintain on deeper space expeditions. To address this, the ERC-funded GUIDO project aims to boost the convex-optimisation-based guidance algorithms of its previous project. In doing so, it will demonstrate proof of concept that enables spacecraft with autonomous guidance, navigation and control capabilities, paving the way for low-cost deep space exploration.
Objective
The “space revolution” is expected to become the biggest industry in history. During the last decades, space exploration has contributed to the development of various technologies (e.g. GPS, weather predictions, solar cells, reliable power grid, Earth observation services) that fedback into the economy and improved our lives. In 2020, the global space economy was valued at about $ 446.9 B. With the advent of deep-space CubeSats, nanosatellites that disrupted this industry, space agencies are planning to launch tens of CubeSat in deep space per single launch.
The number of deep-space probes is bound to thrive, yet their growth is unsustainable with current practice. Human-in-the-loop operations are particularly relevant for flight-related procedures in cruise phase: the spacecraft position is determined from ground, with a consistent involvement of resources and assets. It is acknowledged that a sustainable deep-space exploration requires enabling self-driving spacecraft.
The GUIDO project forges an autonomous guidance board to enable the self-driving capability of spacecraft in the solar system. The project stems from the ERC-funded project EXTREMA (ERC-CoG-2019). GUIDO aims to elevate the convex-optimization-based guidance algorithms conceived within EXTREMA to a proof-of-concept board at TRL 4.
Our autonomous guidance board, GUIDOboard, is a disruptive innovation that will change the modus operandi of deep-space satellite operation. GUIDO will revolutionize the way spacecraft travel in space, by cutting the cost of ground control of the whole cruise phase and unlocking the new space mission concept.
The project follows a suitably devised pathway to cover technical validation activities and assessment of exploitation opportunities. GUIDO has raised the interest of leading sectoral players and space agencies, as witnessed by the letters of interest attached.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringastronautical engineeringspacecraft
- humanitieshistory and archaeologyhistory
- engineering and technologymechanical engineeringvehicle engineeringaerospace engineeringsatellite technology
- natural sciencesphysical sciencesastronomygalactic astronomysolar physics
- social sciencespolitical sciencespolitical transitionsrevolutions
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Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC-POC - HORIZON ERC Proof of Concept GrantsHost institution
20133 Milano
Italy