OSAM 1 (left) with Landsat 7 (right) [SSL]
Restore-L is a free-flying mission projected to launch in 2020 to perform in-orbit satellite servicing on an operational government asset in low-Earth orbit.
The Restore-L mission, an endeavor to launch a robotic spacecraft in 2020 to refuel a live satellite. The mission – the first of its kind in low-Earth orbit - will demonstrate that a carefully curated suite of satellite-servicing technologies are fully operational. The current candidate client for this venture is Landsat 7, a government-owned satellite in low-Earth orbit.
Beyond refueling, the Restore-L mission also carries another, weighty objective: to test other crosscutting technologies that have applications for several critical upcoming NASA missions. As the Restore-L servicer rendezvous with, grasps, refuels, and relocates a client spacecraft, NASA will be checking important items off of its technology checklist that puts humans closer to Mars exploration.
Restore-L technologies include an autonomous relative navigation system with supporting avionics, and dexterous robotic arms and software. The suite is completed by a tool drive that supports a collection of sophisticated robotic tools for robotic spacecraft refueling, and a propellant transfer system that delivers measured amounts of fuel at the proper temperature, rate, and pressure.
NASA has awarded the Restore-L Spacecraft Bus and Support Services contract to Space Systems/Loral of Palo Alto, California. Restore-L is a robotic spacecraft based on the SSL-1300 bus, equipped with the tools, technologies and techniques needed to service satellites currently in orbit.
The contract has a firm-fixed-price and includes a three-year core period and a two-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity portion. The total maximum value of the contract is $127 million.
Space Systems/Loral will provide spacecraft bus, critical hardware and services for the development, deployment and operations of the Restore-L mission. They also will provide related services to accomplish mission integration, test, launch and operations.
The Restore-L Project is managed within NASA’s Satellite Servicing Projects Division at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
Aa an additional payload, the Restore-L satellite will host the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER) experiment. SPIDER will demonstrate the in-orbit assembly of multiple antenna reflector dishes into one single reflector.
In February 2024, following an in-depth independent project review, NASA has decided to discontinue the OSAM-1 project due to continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges, and a broader community evolution away from refueling unprepared spacecraft, which has led to a lack of a committed partner.
Nation: | USA |
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Type / Application: | Servicing |
Operator: | NASA |
Contractors: | Maxar Technologies (formerly Space Systems/Loral (SS/L)) |
Equipment: | Restore-L, SPIDER |
Configuration: | SSL-1300 |
Propulsion: | |
Power: | Deployable solar array, batteries |
Lifetime: | |
Mass: | |
Orbit: |
Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
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OSAM 1 (Restore-L) | - | 2025 | Va | cancelled |