User:GeneralNotability/Phoenix

Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) is a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) program whose goal is to service satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

Phoenix
The technology for RSGS began with DARPA's Phoenix program. The goal of Phoenix was to launch autonomous servicing vehicles into geosynchronous orbit. These vehicles would scavenge pieces of defunct satellites in geosynchronous orbit, such as antennas, with new "satlets". A demonstration mission was originally scheduled for 2016. The Phoenix program ended and was replaced with RSGS when DARPA decided to pursue servicing operational satellites instead of refurbishing dead ones; the lessons learned in Phoenix were directly applied to RSGS. In 2015, the program's focus shifted from scavenging defunct vehicles to repairing operational vehicles as part of a broader change toward a program that could be used by both commercial and defense customers. DARPA described their goals at the time as starting with repairs, eventually progressing to in-orbit upgrades, and in the long term constructing satellites in orbit.