WASHINGTON — NASA has canceled a multibillion-dollar challenge to exhibit satellite tv for pc servicing applied sciences that had suffered intensive delays and price overruns.
In a short lived observation March 1, NASA introduced it was once finishing the On-Orbit Servicing, Meeting and Production (OSAM) 1 project. OSAM-1 was once being evolved to refuel the Landsat 7 spacecraft after which carry out the in-orbit meeting of a Ka-band satellite tv for pc antenna.
NASA mentioned it was once canceling OSAM-1 “because of persisted technical, price, and agenda demanding situations, and a broader group evolution clear of refueling unprepared spacecraft, which has ended in a loss of a dedicated spouse.”
The company mentioned that, after formal congressional notifications of its resolution, it might get started the method for an orderly shutdown, which would come with moving {hardware} and “pursuing possible partnerships or selection {hardware} makes use of.”
NASA mentioned it might additionally evaluation learn how to mitigate the affect of the cancellation at the body of workers on the Goddard House Flight Middle, which was once main OSAM-1. NASA spokesperson Jimi Russell mentioned there are roughly 450 NASA staff and contractors running on OSAM-1, and that NASA “is dedicated to supporting challenge body of workers according to plan thru fiscal yr 2024.”
OSAM-1 began a few decade in the past as Repair-L, with the purpose of launching once 2020 to refuel Landsat 7. The project was once renamed OSAM-1 in 2020 with the addition of payloads to accomplish in-space meeting and production actions.
The project, regardless that, suffered important price overruns and delays. As of April 2022, the project’s overall price, as soon as projected to be between $626 million and $753 million, had grown to $2.05 billion and its release behind schedule to December 2026. NASA’s Place of business of Inspector Common (OIG), in an October 2023 document, concluded the challenge would most likely undergo further overruns, with an estimated price at of entirety as prime as $2.17 billion and a release of between March and June 2027.
A key consider OSAM-1’s issues, the document concluded, was once the efficiency of Maxar, which is supplying each the spacecraft bus in addition to the robotics payload, known as House Infrastructure Dexterous Robotic (SPIDER), beneath contracts with a blended worth of just about $316 million. Maxar delivered the OSAM-1 bus in September 2023, two and a part years in the back of agenda, and was once working greater than two years past due with the deliveries of SPIDER elements, OIG discovered.
Maxar stated within the document that that they had “considerably underestimated the scope and complexity of the paintings” editing one in all its 1300-series satellite tv for pc buses, designed for industrial geostationary orbit communications satellites, to be used on OSAM-1 in low Earth orbit. The corporate additionally had technical issues of SPIDER in addition to problems managing subcontractors. NASA mentioned in September 2023 it has got rid of one part of SPIDER known as MakerSat, which might have manufactured a composite beam, to concentrate on its servicing and meeting applied sciences.
That document traced the issues with the OSAM-1 bus and SPIDER to using mounted company worth contracts that, OIG concluded, gave NASA no manner to incentivize the corporate’s efficiency. NASA now and then stepped in, offering an estimated $2 million in hard work to assist with the OSAM-1 bus in 2022 and 2023.
“In our discussions with Maxar officers, they stated that they have been not benefiting from their paintings on OSAM-1,” OIG famous in its document. “Additionally, challenge officers mentioned that OSAM-1 does now not seem to be a prime precedence for Maxar with regards to the standard of its staffing.”
Maxar spokesperson Eric Glass mentioned the corporate had brought to NASA a pallet for the SPIDER payload, in addition to one in all its 3 robot palms, with the opposite two robot palms deliberate for supply later this yr. “Whilst we’re disenchanted through the verdict to discontinue this system, we’re dedicated to supporting NASA in pursuing possible new partnerships or selection {hardware} makes use of as they whole the shutdown,” he mentioned.
One drawback OSAM-1 didn’t have was once investment. Congress incessantly exceeded NASA’s requests for investment for the project. The OIG document famous that NASA asked $808.5 million for OSAM-1 between 2016 and 2023 however Congress appropriated greater than $1.48 billion. NASA asked $227 million for OSAM-1 for fiscal yr 2024 and each the Area and Senate variations of spending expenses totally funded the project.
OSAM-1’s cancelation comes as many corporations are commercially pursuing satellite tv for pc servicing applied sciences, in lots of instances the usage of extra cooperative approaches corresponding to designing satellites with refueling ports that cut back the complexity of refueling. At the once a year assembly of CONFERS, a satellite tv for pc servicing business staff, in October 2023, an target audience member famous there were little dialogue about OSAM-1 in convention shows.
Bo Naasz, who leads satellite tv for pc servicing capacity building at NASA, stated the trouble in creating a spacecraft designed to refuel a spacecraft “now not ready” for servicing. “It’s truly arduous,” he mentioned. He argued the price of OSAM-1 was once to exhibit robot applied sciences which may be transferred for different packages whilst gaining revel in in satellite tv for pc servicing.
“We will assist persuade the shopper that we know the way to do that and that it’s able,” he concluded. “I believe it’s, however I additionally suppose it’s arduous.”
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