NASA-Funded SSPICY Spacecraft Declared Unrecoverable After Communications Loss
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced on November 3 that a NASA-funded small satellite launched in October has lost contact with its owner and operator, Starfish Space, during commissioning, and that NASA and Starfish have concluded the spacecraft is not recoverable.
The mission, the Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY), launched on October 1. Starfish Space established initial communications with its Otter spacecraft, but lost contact during commissioning, the initial phase after launch to turn on systems and calibrate instruments, and has not been able to reestablish two-way communication.
According to NASA, troubleshooting and analysis by both NASA and Starfish revealed an issue with the spacecraft's fault protection system, the onboard software for detecting and responding to problems, which is keeping the spacecraft's radio erroneously turned off.
The technology demonstration was designed to navigate toward and inspect inoperable space objects of U.S. origin in low Earth orbit, while demonstrating advanced propulsion, guidance, navigation, and control technologies, as well as an innovative articulating robotic boom. The SSPICY mission was the first launch and deployment of Starfish's Otter spacecraft and the first integration of the company's navigation and propulsion technologies into a single spacecraft system. NASA's support of the mission is managed by the Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems program at NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.
"Commercial capabilities like Starfish's are critical for a competitive U.S. space economy and strong American leadership in low Earth orbit," said Greg Stover, director of the Advanced Research and Technology Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Technology demonstrations allow us to quickly test new systems, learn from their performance, and iterate so that we are pushing the boundaries of what's possible with every mission. NASA will continue taking on bold challenges in close collaboration with our industry partners."
NASA said the objective of SSPICY is to accelerate industry technologies for in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing while providing NASA valuable data on the characteristics of orbital debris objects, and that Starfish intends to continue gathering that information for NASA during its future missions with the Otter spacecraft.
Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国国家航空航天局（NASA）总部 Mary W. Jackson 大楼（Washington，GSM 四级固定图库；CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons）。 / Photo: Mary W. Jackson Building, NASA Headquarters in Washington (GSM fixed asset library; CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
