Electromagnetic formation flight leverages magnetic forces generated by on-board coils or dipoles to maintain and reconfigure satellite constellations without consuming propellant. By exploiting ...

It might sound like science fiction, but researchers are exploring how magnetic fields could allow satellites to safely maneuver around each other without using traditional fuel. A study published on ...

BOSTON — The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) plans to begin work next year that could lead to a formation-flying experiment in which multiple small satellites perform functions ...

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — NASA astronaut Mike Hopkins started a series of on-orbit tests Monday that could lead to large “sparse arrays” of satellites in space maintaining their relative position using ...

Ithaca, NY – April 1, 2008 – By taking advantage of the surprising physics of magnetic flux pinning, spacecraft components could hover a fraction of an inch to several feet apart without electrical ...

Between 1966 and 1969, the Dick Tracy comic strip proclaimed 31 times that “The nation that controls magnetism will control the universe.” That prediction hasn’t come true, but there may be something ...

Video: A computer animation illustrates how electromagnets can keep spacecraft in formation (Benjamin Schweighart/MIT-SSL) Video: Experiments at the MIT Space Systems Laboratory show that by varying ...