Starfish Space says it can no longer receive data from its first full-scale Otter space vehicle, bringing a $15 million NASA mission to inspect inoperable satellites to a premature end.
In a LinkedIn post, the Tukwila, Wash.-based startup said its Otter 24C spacecraft was not able to complete all the objectives for the mission, known as Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY). “Starfish and NASA are exploring opportunities to fulfill mission objectives through other Starfish missions,” the company said.
The Otter spacecraft was sent into low Earth orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Oct. 1. “Following a successful launch and deployment, Starfish established two-way contact with the spacecraft and successfully commanded Otter 24C, downlinking significant telemetry during early operations,” Starfish said.
However, the mission team lost contact with the oven-sized spacecraft during the commissioning process. “An investigation into the loss of communications has determined that fault protection on the satellite bus provided by Astro Digital had an error that turned off the radio and prevented re-establishing communications,” the company said.
Starfish, NASA and Astro Digital determined that the spacecraft was unrecoverable. In today’s update, Starfish said it is working closely with Astro Digital to fix the fault protection system and update testing procedures for future Otters.
