Former NASA astronaut Pam Melroy has been working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on a technology that could revolutionize robotic satellite repair missions. According to Melroy, a new robotic breed could help in bringing better services that could result in less space junk.

The technology on which Melroy is working at the agency of the US Department of Defense could lead to refueling, upgrading and servicing the satellites present thousands of miles from the surface of earth and far from astronauts’ reach.

During an interview, Melroy, deputy director of the tactical technology office at DARPA, said, “Space robotics can create a revolution”. Targets of Melroy and DARPA's Phoenix program are the satellites hovering about 36,000 kilometers over the equator and provide services like Internet and television to people sitting in different regions of the world.

The spot chosen by the former astronaut and DARPA is about 90 times the altitude of the space station, International Space Station (ISS). Melroy and the agency chose the spot because it is the place where speed of a satellite is equal to the speed of earth. When the satellite is viewed from surface of earth, it looks to be present at the same place.

Good thing about satellites at that spot is that they are cheap, but there are a number of disadvantages too. It is nearly impossible for astronauts to reach the satellites. When their life ends, they are blasted to pollute space.