Starfish Space lost contact with its first full-scale satellite-servicing spacecraft, ending a $15 million NASA technology demonstration mission in low Earth orbit.
Otter 24C Launch Fails
The Otter 24C spacecraft launched on October 1 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket during a commercial rideshare mission, which carried a total of 130 payloads to low Earth orbit.
Communication dropped during the commissioning phase. NASA’s support of the initiative is managed by the Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems program at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
Software Glitch Blocks Radio
An investigation by Starfish, NASA, and satellite bus manufacturer Astro Digital traced the failure to an error in the satellite bus fault protection system. The onboard autonomous protection logic erroneously turned off the primary radio transceiver and blocked any attempt to re-establish communications.
Otter 24C spacecraft update: pic.twitter.com/qPkkqC2JAn
Starfish, NASA, and Astro Digital concluded that the spacecraft is unrecoverable. The mission was backed by $15 million from NASA and supported by the Advanced Research and Technology Division within NASA’s Research and Technology Mission Directorate.
SSPICY Mission Goals
The SSPICY mission aimed to approach and inspect inactive U.S.-origin objects in low Earth orbit at close range.
Commercial capabilities like Starfish’s are critical for a competitive U.S. space economy and strong American leadership in low Earth orbit,
Greg Stover, director of the Advanced Research and Technology Division at NASA Headquarters
Future Otter Missions Planned
Starfish and NASA are evaluating options to fulfill mission objectives through subsequent flights.
The company has several other Otter missions on tap, including a $54.5 million U.S. Space Force contract, under which a separate Otter spacecraft is to be delivered to the military in 2028.
Starfish is also continuing to test an Otter Pup prototype launched in 2023. The spacecraft, Otter Pup 2, has completed its autonomous rendezvous phase, operating as close as 25 meters away from the target satellite ElaraSat, as the team prepares for a docking attempt.