"NASA's Multibillion-Dollar Satellite Refueling Projects Meet Untimely Demise"
NASA has decided to end its OSAM-1 mission, which aimed to refuel and service working satellites, due to cost and technical challenges. The project, which aimed to rendezvous with and refuel the Landsat-7 satellite, faced delays and increased costs, with the estimated budget exceeding $2 billion. The decision comes after workforce cuts at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the agency is now reviewing how to mitigate the impact of the cancellation. NASA cited a broader shift in the space community away from refueling unprepared spacecraft and pointed to operational servicing vehicles like SpaceLogistics' Mission Extension Vehicle as an alternative approach.
- NASA's satellite pit stop project runs out of gas The Register
- NASA shuts down $2 billion satellite refueling project after contractor Maxar is criticized for poor performance CNBC
- NASA cancels a multibillion-dollar satellite servicing demo mission Ars Technica
- NASA kills $2 billion mission to refuel satellites with robotic arm Business Insider
- NASA cancels OSAM-1 satellite servicing technology mission SpaceNews
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