ESA Science & Technology - Formation Flying

Artist's impression of a formation flying space interferometer

Autonomous Formation Flight is intended to allow satellites to fly in formation using advanced positioning and control loop technology. Multiple spacecraft configurations enable the formation to reconfigure, adapt baselines and acquire targets. Moreover, in case of failure of one satellite, it is easier to replace one of the spacecrafts during the mission instead of repairing a subsystem of a big assembly in space.

By now, ESA is implementing or assessing several space missions involving formation flight aspects: