The spacecraft knows 'sacrifice'

The US Aeronautics Agency (NASA) claims future spacecraft will be able to self-destruct when they encounter serious problems.

(Artwork: esa.itn).

According to New Scientist , NASA thinks that one day humans will not launch large spacecraft anymore. Instead, small spacecraft teams will perform missions in the universe. For example, if you want to launch a telescope to space, people will not produce telescopes anymore, but bring a fleet of ships into space. After that, the ships set up a telescope formation team.

However, if unfortunately a spaceship in the team fails or fails, it can stop working and hit another spacecraft. In order for such collisions to not occur, the spacecraft must be able to identify their " end times " themselves and destroy or detach themselves from the formation . For example, when there is a serious problem and only a little time to survive, the ship will discharge electricity from the battery, push the fuel out of the container, turn off all electrical systems to minimize damage if collision with other ships. Other ships are programmed to be able to avoid " dead " ships.

To make the ' sacrifice ' action of the spacecraft a reality, Michael Vinchey and Emil Vassev - two engineers at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center - created a special control software for spacecraft. This software automatically guides every spacecraft in a team as they perform missions in space, while continuously monitoring electronic systems in each ship.

When the computer detects a problem that cannot be fixed in any spaceship, it must immediately switch to self-destruct mode. Vinchey and Vassev liken the spacecraft's self-destructive action to the way the bees operate. Worker bees are willing to do everything to, even to sacrifice their lives, to ensure the reproductive ability of queen bees. The two engineers have just asked the US government to patent the software to control their spacecraft.

This is not the first time that scientists mention the spacecraft's ability to self-destruct.Surrey Space Center in the UK is designing a type of spacecraft that operates on solar panels . After the ship completes its mission and plunges into the atmosphere of the earth, the panels are raised to stop the speed of the ship. The friction between the air and the panels also caused the ship to burn. The Japan Space Exploration Agency also plans to build artificial satellites capable of self-destructing to destroy cosmic garbage or meteorites. After " sticking " to the target, the satellite will activate the rocket engine itself to push the target into the earth's atmosphere. The goal will be burned during the rubbing process with air.

Richard Holdaway, director of space technology at Rutherford Appleton Laboratories in the UK, says NASA's idea of ​​a self-destructive spacecraft is attracting the attention of European countries. According to him, it is the idea that scientists want to apply in future space expeditions.

' A fleet of 10 to 100 spacecraft equipped with radar, optical sensors and infrared sensors will perform a lot of scientific tasks. But coordination between spacecraft is a huge technical challenge. The self-destruct mechanism to preserve the squad is a wise idea , 'he commented.