A multicellular architecture towards low-cost satellite reliability

Abstract

A new class of low-cost satellites has the potential to reduce the cost of traditional space-based services. Unfortunately, to date, low-cost satellites have proven to suffer from poor reliability. While traditional techniques for increasing reliability are well known to satellite developers, these techniques are poorly suited for implementation on low-cost satellites due to intrinsic budgetary, mass and volume constraints. This research proposes that alternative techniques for increasing system reliability can be derived by studying biological organisms, which have proven their robustness by inhabiting even the harshest locations on earth. Both unicellular and multicellular organisms are examined. The result is a conceptual system architecture, based on initially identical, reconfigurable hardware blocks, or artificial cells, and a decentralized task management strategy. This multicellular architecture is described in detail. Finally, preliminary details of a planned implementation are given. This implementation aims to demonstrate that a significant portion of traditional satellite avionics can be replaced by the proposed artificial cells.