NASA - May the Force Be With Them

If there are bowling-ball size satellites flying in formation inside the International Space Station, where's Luke Skywalker? What may sound like a scene straight from a "Star Wars" movie is actually an experiment that will test how well spacecraft can fly in formation and then rendezvous and dock without the aid of a human pilot. Image to right: Expedition 8 Commander Michael Foale holds the SPHERES Beacon / Beacon Tester. Credit: NASA Astronaut Jeff Williams won't need the Force or a lightsaber May 18 when he unveils the first of three free-flying nano-satellites and releases it for a test flight inside the U.S. Destiny Lab. Developing autonomous formation flying and docking control algorithms is an important step in making future space missions possible.