It's the latest idea from the Pentagon's research wing known for funding blue-sky projects. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is spending $180 million to test technologies that could make this possible.
When satellites retire, certain parts — such as antennas and solar panels — often still work. There's currently no routine effort to salvage and reuse satellite parts once they're launched into space.
A key test will come in 2016 when DARPA launches a demonstration mission that seeks to breathe new life to an antenna from a yet-to-be-determined decommissioned satellite.
DARPA has identified about 140 retired satellites that it can choose from for its first test.
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