DARPA's 'FedEx to GEO' Vision for Spacecraft Delivery Takes a Small Step Forward

摘要

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency released specifications Nov. 10 for a standardized spacecraft deployment system it is developing to enable military payloads to hitch rides on commercial communications satellites and hop off in or near geostationary orbit. DARPA has high hopes for the Payload Orbital Delivery system, or POD, describing it in a press release as a way to "eventually provide 'FedEx to GEO' capabilities to make space deliveries to high-altitude orbits much easier and faster."