After nearly a decade of work, NASA has made the decision to shut down the OSAM-1 project, which aimed to test satellite refueling in space. The project, with a budget of $2 billion, has faced criticism from the agency’s auditor for poor performance by its lead contractor, Maxar.
The decision to discontinue the program was attributed to ongoing technical, cost, and schedule challenges, as well as a shift in the broader community away from refueling unprepared spacecraft. This has resulted in a lack of committed partners for the project.
Despite the disappointment of discontinuing the program, NASA is dedicated to supporting the project workforce through fiscal year 2024 and is open to pursuing potential new partnerships in the future.
The OSAM-1 spacecraft’s robotic servicing arm, known as the “grapple test,” will no longer be operational as a result of this decision.
For more information, you can read the full article on CNBC.
Published on 2024-03-01 17:51:52