The Mission Robotic Vehicle launched on July 21 with two seven-jointed arms meant to inspect, relocate and upgrade ageing satellites; after a year-long trip, it is meant to test whether spacecraft can become serviceable infrastructure

The Mission Robotic Vehicle launched on July 21 with two seven-jointed arms meant to inspect, relocate and upgrade ageing satellites; after a year-long trip, it is meant to test whether spacecraft can become serviceable infrastructure

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched the Mission Robotic Vehicle on July 21, carrying two articulated arms, interchangeable tools, cameras and autonomous control software intended to service other satellites in geostationary orbit. The launch is complete. The central demonstration is not. According to DARPA’s July 21 announcement, the spacecraft will spend about a year travelling to geostationary orbit, roughly 36,000 kilometres above Earth. Only after it…