New Curtin University research could change how space missions are conducted and lead to improvements in industries as diverse as environmental management, agriculture, disaster management and infrastructure inspection.

A team from Curtin's School of Earth and Planetary Sciences has developed a breakthrough in operating and monitoring small satellites, known as CubeSats.

The project saw new algorithms created to use links between satellites to precisely determine a CubeSat's position, whether flying individually or in formation.

Project lead Professor Ahmed El-Mowafy said the new approach overcomes many of the constraints faced when using CubeSats, such as their small size and changes in aerodynamic forces affecting their orbits.

"These new methods mean CubeSats can now operate more independently, without the need for constant human control," Professor El-Mowafy said.

"When human control is needed, the CubeSats are simpler to manage and can be guided and controlled in real time—making them far more efficient to use in space missions.

"We can now operate them and be precise down to a few centimeters, which is a huge improvement on the previous accuracy level of several meters.