New heroes of spaceflight: Not the astronauts but the software nerds

A revolution in satellite technology has produced spacecraft that are smaller and more capable, capsules that fly themselves and autonomous rockets that reach space, make a U-turn and execute pinpoint landings so they can fly again. While ground engineers and computer experts have always played an important role in spaceflight, today their role is even more pronounced as software changes are beamed to spacecraft as routinely as iPhone updates.