
Under a contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), commercial satellite provider Space Systems/Loral will study how to robotically assemble geostationary communications satellite already in orbit, the company said Wednesday.The eventual goal of the program, called Dragonfly, is to develop a satellite that can be launched into space in a compact, stowed state and then assemble itself once in orbit. In the future, such technology could enable the Defense Department to create larger satellites that could be packaged…