NASA
NASA has canceled an overbudget and behind-schedule mission to demonstrate robotic satellite servicing technology in orbit, costing $1.5 billion and likely taking nearly another $1 billion to reach the launch pad. The deaf project was canceled.
The On-Orbit Maintenance, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 mission, known as OSAM-1, will attempt to hang onto and refuel an aging Landsat satellite in orbit, while also demonstrating how a robotic arm can build antennas in space. Ta. The spacecraft for the OSAM-1 mission is partially under construction, but NASA announced Friday that officials decided to cancel the project “after a thorough, independent project review.”
The space agency cited “ongoing technical, cost, and schedule challenges” in its decision to cancel OSAM-1.
mission creep
The cost of the mission has ballooned since NASA officially launched the project in 2016. The original mission scope required only a refueling demonstration, but in 2020 officials added the goal of in-orbit assembly. This included the addition of a complex piece of equipment called the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER), essentially a 16-foot (5-meter) long robotic arm that moved seven structural elements into a single Ka-band Assemble into communication antenna.
The addition of SPIDER meant the mission would launch with three robotic arms, including the two appendages needed to grab the Landsat 7 satellite in orbit for a refueling demonstration. Due to this change in scope, the mission name was changed from Restore-L to OSAM-1.
a Last year’s report by NASA’s inspector general Mission delays and cost overruns were outlined. Since 2016, the space agency has asked Congress for $808 million for Restore-L and OSAM-1. In response, lawmakers gave NASA nearly $1.5 billion to help fund the mission’s development, nearly double what the agency had asked for.
Restore-L, and OSAM-1, have always had support from Congress. The mission was managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Former Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.) was a key supporter of NASA missions based in Goddard, including the James Webb Space Telescope. She was the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee when Congress began funding Restore L in late 2015.
NASA previously expected the Restore-L mission to cost between $626 million and $753 million and be ready for launch in late 2020, but that did not happen and the mission continued to face delays and increased costs. OSAM-1’s latest public schedule shows a 2026 launch date.
In 2020, after reconfiguring the Restore-L mission to OSAM-1, NASA formalized a budget for the renamed mission. At the time, NASA said it would cost $1.78 billion to design, build, launch and operate the spacecraft. An independent review board established by NASA last year to study the OSAM-1 mission estimated the total cost of the project could reach $2.35 billion, according to NASA spokesman Jimi Russell. Ta.
The realities of the satellite services market have also changed since 2016. There are several companies working on commercial satellite servicing technology, and as OSAM-1 demonstrated with his Landsat 7 Earth images, the satellite industry is moving away from refueling unprepared spacecraft. I am. satellite.
Instead, companies are focusing on extending the lifespan of their satellites in other ways. Northrop Grumman has developed a mission expansion vehicle that can be attached to a satellite to provide maneuverability without interrupting a customer’s spacecraft to provide fuel. Other companies are considering designing satellites with refueling ports from the start. The U.S. military wants to place fuel depots and tankers in orbit for periodic maintenance of satellites, allowing them to operate continuously and burn propellant without worrying about running out of fuel. There is.