DARPA envisions recycling defunct satellites

Well, let's see. Last week, we had NASA putting filling stations in orbit. This week, DARPA wants to recycle old satellite bits to save launch expenses. Sooo ... we take the money saved in payload for the satellites and use it to put fuel tanks in orbit so the orbital robot can keep running and I guess fuel/refuel the new satellites while it's at it. Actually, I kind of like the idea of an orbital service robot or two upgrading, repairing or whatevering what's in orbit already *plus* being able to deorbit what's not salvagable in a controlled manner so it lands somewhere "safe" or heads out in... [More]