NASA validates GPS-free navigation using orbiting satellites and debris

NASA’s Starling spacecraft successfully tested the Fast Autonomous Lost-in-space Catalog-based Optical Navigation (FALCON) technology, allowing a satellite to determine its position by spotting other satellites and debris. Using standard star-tracker cameras, the system matched observed objects to a public catalog maintained by the U.S. Department of War and then calculated its own orbit. Over a period of three days, FALCON autonomously updated the orbital data for over 200 objects, achieving greater precision than existing ground-based predictions.

The payload, a joint effort between NASA and the Stanford-spun startup EraDrive, combines Era-Core software with Starling’s imaging hardware. Program manager Roger Hunter highlighted the potential benefits for space-traffic monitoring, collision avoidance, and missions beyond Earth where GPS signals are weak or absent. Later this year, the four-satellite Starling fleet will share observations to further improve collective navigation.