Modern rockets have some degree of automation, as well as onboard sensors that inform engineers on the ground about trajectory, malfunctions and so on. But the setup is rather like a “check engine” light in a car that alerts the driver to an unspecified problem and neither offers nor implements a solution.

In contrast, data from various sensors in the Epsilon launch vehicle will come together in an electronic “brain” that, like our own, can then issue commands to the rocket’s “body.”

“The AI will diagnose the condition of the rocket, but it is more than that,” Morita said. Should there be an issue, “the AI system will determine the cause of a malfunction,” and in some cases correct for it.

One example of this AI in action could be the regulation of the electrical current that controls the orientation of the thruster nozzle. Where the thruster is pointed determines the rocket’s direction, and a surge or other irregularity in the nozzle’s electrical current can send the rocket off course. Applying AI in this way is quite similar to its use in electrocardiograms that interpret the human heart’s electrical signals in order to evaluate organ function, Morita noted.

Epsilon’s AI also seems to draw on NASA’s Deep Space One probe, which launched in 1998 and was retired in 2001. That project stands as the most notable application of AI to rocketry, said Henry Kautz, president of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence.

Onboard computer programs allowed the probe to devise its own plans for achieving goals set by human operators. Deep Space One took stock of its condition and executed tasks instead of waiting for detailed planning via remote control from human operators.

The probe also demonstrated the first use of AI for spacecraft navigation, which could help rockets reach their orbital destination for deploying satellites or maybe even astronauts someday. Deep Space One’s autonomous navigation system directly adjusted engines based on optical observations of asteroids against a backdrop of stars to provide orientation.

All such systems could grant rockets greater flexibility in dealing with unexpected situations and reduce time and manpower needs.