NEWS · STARTUPS · #794
AstroForge to fly in-house transformer ‘Solo’ to autonomously control upcoming spacecraft
AstroForge developed an in-house transformer-based autonomous control stack called Solo and plans to test it in shadow mode on its DeepSpace-2 vehicle (launching with Intuitive Machines’ mission) before flying Solo as the primary controller on a 2027 Stock Space-launched mission backed by NASA. The stack combines traditional control algorithms, subsystem models and a transformer agent trained on roughly 2,500 spacecraft sensors to handle tasks like anomaly resolution onboard the vehicle.
KEY POINTS
- AstroForge developed an in-house transformer-based autonomous control stack called Solo and plans to test it in shadow mode on its DeepSpace-2 vehicle (launching with Intuitive Machines’ mission) before flying Solo as the primary controller on a 2027 Stock Space-launched mission backed by NASA.
- The stack combines traditional control algorithms, subsystem models and a transformer agent trained on roughly 2,500 spacecraft sensors to handle tasks like anomaly resolution onboard the vehicle.
- This would be an early, high-profile use of neural-network (transformer) autonomy in deep-space flight, potentially reducing dependence on large ground networks and human flight teams.
WHY IT MATTERS
This would be an early, high-profile use of neural-network (transformer) autonomy in deep-space flight, potentially reducing dependence on large ground networks and human flight teams.