OSAM-1

OSAM-1 (On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1) was a 2016-2024 conceptual NASA mission and spacecraft designed to test on-orbit refilling of satellites. The program was cancelled in 2024, two years ahead of its planned launch date. It was initially known as Restore-L.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Originally scheduled to launch in 2020,^[4] its launch at the time of cancellation was planned for no earlier than 2026.^[5] The primary objective of the concept mission and spacecraft was the complex refueling of Landsat 7, a satellite launched in 1999, that was not designed for on-orbit servicing. This would have involved grasping the satellite with a mechanical arm, gaining access to the satellite's fuel tank by cutting through insulation and wires and unscrewing a bolt, and then attaching a hose to pump in hydrazine fuel. At the time the mission was conceived, it was expected to be the first refueling of a satellite in space, and a demonstration of the potential to repair some of the thousands of active satellites in orbit and keep them in operation for a longer time.^[1] Because the satellites now in space were not designed to be serviced, there are significant challenges to doing so successfully.^[1]^[2]

OSAM-1's second objective was to deploy a separate robot called SPIDER (Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot) to build a new structure in space. Using robots to build and assemble new structural components from scratch would be an important step towards a type of space-based construction that had been impossible to date.^[1]

Description

The OSAM-1 spacecraft was to include:

two arms to grapple the target satellite;
the attached payload for SPIDER.

History

In 2016, NASA's Restore-L satellite was intended to refuel Landsat 7.^[4]

In 2020, SPIDER was added and the name was changed from Restore-L to OSAM-1.

On 1 March 2024, NASA announced that OSAM-1 had been cancelled due to "continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges, and a broader community evolution away from refueling unprepared spacecraft."^[6]

Cost & legacy

At cancellation in 2024, about $2 billion had been invested in the project.^[7]

Progression

A subsequent mission, OSAM-2, would have also had two robotic arms.^[8] OSAM-2 would have used ModuLink software which is based on xLink.^[8] In 2023, NASA decided to conclude the OSAM-2 project without proceeding to a flight demonstration.^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Kleiner, Kurt (24 February 2022). "Orbiting robots could help fix and fuel satellites in space". Knowable Magazine. doi:10.1146/knowable-022422-1. S2CID 247119849. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
^ ^a ^b Henshaw, Carl Glen; Glassner, Samantha; Naasz, Bo; Roberts, Brian (3 May 2022). "Grappling Spacecraft". Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems. 5: 137–159. doi:10.1146/annurev-control-042920-011106. ISSN 2573-5144. S2CID 242628083. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
^ "OSAM-1 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 10 March 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ ^a ^b Hall, Loura (22 June 2016). "NASA's Restore-L Mission to Refuel Landsat 7, Demonstrate Technologies". NASA. Retrieved 10 March 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ "OSAM-1: Proving Satellite Servicing—Starting with Landsat 7". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^ Foust, Jeff (1 March 2024). "NASA cancels OSAM-1 satellite servicing technology mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
^ Oxford, Clarence (3 March 2024). "NASA Ends $2 Billion Satellite Refueling Project Amid Challenges". Space Daily. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
^ ^a ^b "Motiv Space Systems and Blue Origin announce ModuLink". Space War. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
^ "On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 2 (OSAM-2)". NASA. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

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[Kleiner-1] Kleiner, Kurt (24 February 2022). "Orbiting robots could help fix and fuel satellites in space". Knowable Magazine. doi:10.1146/knowable-022422-1. S2CID 247119849. Retrieved 10 March 2022.

[Henshaw-2] Henshaw, Carl Glen; Glassner, Samantha; Naasz, Bo; Roberts, Brian (3 May 2022). "Grappling Spacecraft". Annual Review of Control, Robotics, and Autonomous Systems. 5: 137–159. doi:10.1146/annurev-control-042920-011106. ISSN 2573-5144. S2CID 242628083. Retrieved 10 March 2022.

[OSAM-1-3] "OSAM-1 Mission". NASA. Retrieved 10 March 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[Hall-4] Hall, Loura (22 June 2016). "NASA's Restore-L Mission to Refuel Landsat 7, Demonstrate Technologies". NASA. Retrieved 10 March 2022. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[nasa-20220826-5] "OSAM-1: Proving Satellite Servicing—Starting with Landsat 7". Goddard Space Flight Center. NASA. 26 August 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2023. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

[6] Foust, Jeff (1 March 2024). "NASA cancels OSAM-1 satellite servicing technology mission". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2 March 2024.

[7] Oxford, Clarence (3 March 2024). "NASA Ends $2 Billion Satellite Refueling Project Amid Challenges". Space Daily. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

[ModuLink-8] "Motiv Space Systems and Blue Origin announce ModuLink". Space War. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 17 March 2024.

[9] "On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 2 (OSAM-2)". NASA. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 17 March 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

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