A decade on, Lockheed’s smartphone-like software finally heads to space

Once a traditional satellite is launched into space, its physical hardware and computer software stay mostly immutable for the rest of its existence as it orbits the Earth, even as the technology it serves on the ground continues to change.

Just as some aerospace start-ups are developing technologies to repair, modify or refuel satellites to prolong their lives, some satellite manufacturers are looking at a complementary solution — hoping to install smartphone-like software with more computing power and capable of receiving updates within minutes instead of days or weeks.

US aerospace company Lockheed Martin presented its new “SmartSat” technology to journalists Wednesday near Washington.