While people on Earth are thinking about self-driving cars, Christopher “Chrispy” Petersen is focused on self-driving satellites. “A satellite that nudges itself in the right direction or performs some aspect of self-repair lets people in the control room focus on other, important mission-oriented tasks,” he says. Petersen, an assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, loves pushing the limits of satellite capabilities. “If we already have all this real-time data f...
