SmartSat CRC’s flagship project for space mission autonomy, SCARLET-α, successfully passed a comprehensive Mid-Term Review recently.
The Mid-Term Review, organised and conducted by SmartSat, was thorough and constructive, resulting in clear and actionable insights that will guide the research team’s next steps.
SmartSat Research Program Manager, Jeff Kasparian, led the review as an independent Chair. The review involved a panel of eight reviewers including representatives from Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG). The panel scrutinised the latest project documentation and Proof of Concept (PoC) demonstration by the researchers.
The review found that all four work packages of the project have made significant advancements. Notably, each work package team presented PoC demonstrations tailored to relevant real-world use cases. These PoC’s are designed to showcase practical, industry-relevant solutions.
The review highlighted an ongoing commitment to improve these PoC’s, particularly in terms of realism and clarity. Throughout the review the research team aligned on a strong strategic vision to evolve towards an integrated PoC across various work packages. This initiative aims to unify efforts around a single, impactful use case.
Through the review process, dozens of actions were captured for the research team to follow-up on in order to enhance the impact and utilisation potential of the project.
The full name of the SCARLET-⍺ project is SpaceCraft Autonomy and Onboard AI for Next Generation Space Systems. Spacecraft autonomy has been recognised as a key enabler of the next-generation space systems that aim at increasing responsiveness and continuity of space-based observations, covering large areas with higher resolutions, minimising communication and data access latencies, and reducing costs of both the space and ground segments.
The project is developing novel concepts, methods and technologies to provide new AI-based spacecraft autonomy capabilities for the next-generation space systems, such as dynamically networked formations of heterogeneous satellites.
The project is being carried out in 4 work packages, with various academic and industry partners:
Dr Andrew Barton
Research Program Manager