NASA Abandons Multibillion-Dollar Satellite Servicing Demonstration Mission

In a noticeable shift of strategy, NASA has officially terminated the OSAM-1 mission – a ground-breaking endeavor that intended to exemplify robotic satellite servicing technology, which ambitions, however, had been intensely floundering amidst escalating costs and persistent procrastination. The closure comes on the heels of a cumulative expenditure of close to $1.5 billion on the project which, if pursued further, could have potentially drained an additional billion dollars so as to facilitate its eventual launch.

Designed with the objective of grapping an elderly Landsat satellite in orbit to successfully refuel, the OSAM-1 mission (an acronym for On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing), was further expected to demonstrate the potentials of an operative robotic limb in outer space to construct an antenna. Though the construction of the spacecraft for the ambitious mission is in partial completion, NASA declared a cancellation of the project subsequent to an all-encompassing, unaffiliated project review.

The abrupt cancellation of the project was chiefly attributed to sustained technical glitches, budgeting conundrums, and escalating schedule pressures that impinged on the mission’s viability.

Project Surfeit

OSAM-1 mission’s remit had grown exorbitantly ever since the commencement of the mission. The primary premise centered predominantly around a fueling demonstration. Nevertheless, the project’s ambit extended excessively in 2020 when mission administrators appended the objective of in-orbit assembly. This supplementary proviso entailed the introduction of an intricate device termed the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER) – fundamentally a 5-meter-length robotic appendage aimed to assemble seven structural modules toward a sole Ka-band communications antenna.

This additional incorporation of SPIDER implied the mission’s eventual launch with a total of three robotic arms, inclusive of two additional appendages to hook onto the Landsat 7 satellite in orbit for the fueling exhibit. The profound evolution in the breadth of the mission led to its nomenclature metamorphosing from Restore-L to OSAM-1.

A report by NASA’s Inspector General put forth last year, shed light on the evident procrastination along with cost overruns that plagued the mission. Ever since its inauguration in 2016, NASA plea for financial assistance to Congress amounted to roughly $808 million for both Restore-L and OSAM-1. Congress pitched in, furnishing NASA with an overwhelming $1.5 billion for the development of the mission- an astronomical sum that overshoots what NASA had initially intended to secure.

Interestingly, the now-terminated venture – in both its incarnations as Restore-L and OSAM-1 – had systematically enjoyed the patronage of Congress. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland precisely managed the mission. The former Senator Barbara Mikulski who was a renowned protagonist of NASA missions emanating from Goddard, including the now-famous James Webb Space Telescope, was instrumental in sufficing NASA’s financing requisition for Restore-L in 2015.

NASA had once confidently predicted that cost of the Restore-L venture will oscillate between $626 million and $753 million, harbouring the expectation of readiness for launch in the latter half of 2020. However, this envisioned trajectory failed to materialize as the mission was repetitively beleaguered with recurrent delays and escalating expenses. The recent public schedule showed OSAM-1’s launch date deferred till 2026.

A couple of years back, the formally reconstituted OSAM-1 mission was backed with a transfigured budget layout by NASA – a staggering sum amounting to $1.78 billion dedicated to the design, construction, launch, and operation. As per an independent audit board constituted by NASA last year to scrutinize the viability of the project, it was estimated that the project’s overall expenditure could skyrocket to a colossal $2.35 billion.

Factors external to NASA – namely, the evolution of satellite servicing market – also ?influenced the mission’s termination. An array of companies are coming up with their own versions of commercial satellite servicing technologies and the spotlight within the satellite industry seems to have altered from refueling unprepared spacecraft (the very purpose OSAM-1 was conceived for) to devising innovative techniques for prolonging the operational life of satellites.

For instance, Northrop Grumman has conceptualized the Mission Extension Vehicle which can connect to a satellite, offering operative maneuverability without the necessity of having to intrude the host spacecraft for refueling. Other industry players are journeying down the path of crafting satellites that are equipped with refueling ports from the get-go. The US military for one is known to be eager to establish fuel depots and tankers in orbit to facilitate their satellites to persistently move and burn propellant, freeing them of the anxiety of fuel exhaustion.