Michael Hecht
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Haystack Observatory
NIAC 2015 Phase I Michael Hecht Final Report A Tall Ship and a Star to Steer Her By
Graphic depiction of a differential deployable autonomous radio navigation system. u003cstrongu003eCredits: Michael Hecht, MIT, Haystack Observatoryu003c/strongu003e
Description
The proposed Differential Deployable Autonomous Radio Navigation (ΔDARN) brings astronomical radio observations of quasars, masers and pulsars into play as a means to autonomously guide spacecraft among the planets, and even to the stars. The roadmap leads to a demonstration mission and utilization on deep space missions large and small. Phase 1 will produce a preliminary catalog of reference maser sources, a system analysis, and conceptual design of a demonstration mission.
