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 refueling 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, added in 2020, 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
[edit | edit source]The OSAM-1 spacecraft was to include:
- two arms to grapple the target satellite;
- the attached payload for SPIDER.
History
[edit | edit source]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.
In Feb 2022, OSAM-1 passed its Critical Design Review.[6]
On 04 Sept 2023, NASA notified Congress of their intent to cancel OSAM-1.[7]
On 20 Sept 2023 the satellite bus arrived at NASA Goddard from Maxar.[8]
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."[9]
Cost & legacy
[edit | edit source]OSAM-1 was funded by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate through its Technology Demonstration Missions program.[10]
At cancellation in 2024, about $2 billion had been invested in the project.[11]
Progression
[edit | edit source]A subsequent mission, OSAM-2, would have also had two robotic arms.[12] OSAM-2 would have used ModuLink software which is based on xLink.[12] In 2023, NASA decided to conclude the OSAM-2 project without proceeding to a flight demonstration.[13]
See also
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- In-orbit refueling
- Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites program – A DARPA project aiming to launch in 2024
References
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- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ^ https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasas-robotic-osam-1-mission-completes-its-critical-design-review/
- ^ Announcement from NASA Headquarters
- ^ Spacecraft Bus for Satellite Servicing Mission Arrives at NASA Goddard
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ https://www.nasa.gov/centers-and-facilities/goddard/nasas-robotic-osam-1-mission-completes-its-critical-design-review/
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value). Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
