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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1: DART Darts into Outer Space

On Friday, April 15, 2005, a new NASA spacecraft lifted skyward and into the region above the earth’s atmosphere. A rocket carried this space robot into an orbit around the earth. The computers on this spacecraft spilled out lots of data, but no human was on board to read the computer printouts. This was NASA’s first attempt to achieve the robotic delivery of cargo to a second space satellite.

This launch represented a major step forward in the “Demonstration of Autonomous Rendezvous Technology” (DART). Scientists on the ground expected the spacecraft launched on Friday to meet up with the Pentagon satellite that was already circling the earth. NASA spent $110 million on the development of this robot-piloted spacecraft. NASA predicted that future launches could propel a space robot upwards in order to repair a damaged space shuttle.

Scientists on the ground would direct the space robot to carry out a series of different operations. The new spacecraft would get signals telling it to approach and to circle the Pentagon satellite. Finally, the robotic spacecraft would receive a message telling it to move away from the Pentagon satellite. If DART completed these maneuvers successfully, then NASA could move on to the next major step in the DART program.

Once the entire DART program was completed, space scientists would have a way to direct the docking and repair of two or more orbiting spacecraft.

--Written by Sue Chehrenegar

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