Formation Flying:
Spacecraft formations offer many potential applications in the future of space exploration, including the search for habitable terrestrial exoplanets, the identification
of black holes, and many others. Multiple spacecraft in a formation yield significant benefits compared to single spacecraft including the possibility of high resolution for scientific applications, a reduction of the size and weight of the spacecraft with its consequent savings in launch costs, and the possibility of a fast replacement and redundancy in case of vehicle failure.
Most of the formation flying mission concepts typically investigate spacecraft placed on orbits around the Earth (see
past project: Magic Inclinations). During the last decade, due to the detection of a large number of extrasolar planets, new studies on formation flying in multi-body regimes have emerged to support space astronomy.
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