NASA’s newest invention could solve a major space exploration problemScience<br>NASA’s newest invention could solve a major space exploration problem

But we’re still several years away from the first actual test.

by Nancy Atkinson and Universe TodayUpdated: Feb. 20, 2024<br>Originally Published: May 30, 2022

NASA

NASA is planning a mission to demonstrate the ability to repair and upgrade satellites in Earth's orbit. The mission, called OSAM-1 (On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing-1), will send a robotic spacecraft equipped with robotic arms and all the tools and equipment needed to fix, refuel, or extend satellite lifespans, even if those satellites were not designed to be serviced on-orbit.<br>The first test flight of OSAM-1 is scheduled for launch no earlier than 2026 and will go to low Earth orbit to rendezvous, grapple, and dock with Landsat 7, an Earth-observing satellite that has been in orbit since 1999. The mission will conduct a first-of-its-kind refueling demonstration test, then relocate the satellite to a new orbit. While some parts of the mission are autonomous, human teleoperators will conduct much of the procedures and maneuvers remotely from Earth.

Artist’s concept of OSAM-1 approaching Landsat 7.

NASA

NASA says that repairing satellites — instead of just letting defunct spacecraft drift in Earth orbit — helps decrease space debris to create a more sustainable future for space exploration. In addition, the test flight will assess on-orbit robotic assembly and manufacturing, which many see as the technology needed for the future, such as doing maintenance during long-duration human missions in our Solar System and constructing and maintaining structures in orbit of the Moon or Mars.<br>The original idea for a satellite servicing spacecraft is the brainchild of noted NASA engineer Frank Cepollina, who has a history of repairing spacecraft in orbit. He led the teams in charge of planning and choreographing the five servicing missions for the Hubble Space Telescope. He helped design the specialized tools and procedures that astronauts would use to successfully repair and upgrade Hubble, keeping the venerable telescope operating for years longer than projected and allowing better instruments and technology to be installed in each successive mission. He also led teams that developed techniques to repair other satellites during the early days of the Space Shuttle era.<br>“To me, it is astounding that we would just throw satellites away on orbit,” Cepollina told me in 2016 when I toured the Robotic Operations Center at what was then called the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “It seemed we should find a way to fix these satellites for economic reasons and for the scientific benefits we could derive. I wanted to find a way to fix and upgrade satellites.”

The Earth’s space debris, visualized by NASA.

Cepollina, now age 85, only recently retired from NASA but has mentored and trained several generations of engineers, never giving up on his dream of repairing satellites. After several proposals for servicing missions, the concept was officially recognized as a mission and attained ‘line item’ status in NASA’s budget. But there is still much work to be done to be ready for launch by 2026.<br>“When you do something for the first time, there’s a lot of new technology and procedures, and you inherently run into roadblocks and setbacks, and we are no different,” said Ross Henry, the OSAM-1 Servicing Payload Manager, in an interview with Universe Today. “We are dealing with several new systems, like a new lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) system, a unique propellant transfer system, and two robotic arms [one is a redundant backup] that can use eleven unique tools and adapters, each with a specific purpose as part of the mission.”<br>The primary goal for OSAM-1’s first test flight will be refueling Landsat 7, which is about 705 km (440 miles) above Earth. But since Landsat 7 — like many satellites — was never meant to be serviced or even seen again, the OSAM-1 spacecraft can’t just pull up alongside another satellite and hook up the fuel hose.<br>First, OSAM-1 will need to get close enough for one of the robot arms to grapple Landsat 7 and then perform docking maneuvers, using the original docking clamp or Marman ring on the satellite.<br>“Then, there is a lot of work we’ll have to do to get access to the fueling site,” Henry explained. “OSAM-1’s remote operators will have to cut into the multi-layer insulation thermal blanketing and move it out of the way to expose the fill/drain valves. But when they were closed out before launch, those valves were covered with lock wires, so we’ll have to go in with specialized scissors and cut those. Plus, there are redundant safety caps we will remove.”<br>“It is astounding that we would just throw satellites away.”<br>OSAM-1 will carry 122 kg (270lbs) of fuel, and the plan is to transfer 115 kg (250 lbs) of it to Landsat 7 using the...