Starfish Space loses contact with 1st 'Otter' servicing spacecraft, ending NASA tech-demo mission
The mission plan called for the 739-pound (335-kilogram) Otter 24C spacecraft to approach and inspect "up to four inoperable space objects of U.S.
Key points
- The Starfish satellite was flying a mission for NASA called Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability, or SSPICY for short.
- Illustration of a Starfish Space Otter satellite rendesvousing with another spacecraft in Earth orbit.
- The goal was to "demonstrate technologies necessary for future debris-removal missions as well as for future applications in the servicing and inspection of active spacecraft," according to NASA's SSPICY site.
"Starfish, NASA, and Astro Digital have concluded that Otter 24C is not recoverable." The company further said that it's implementing fixes to reduce the chances that the problem will crop up in the future.
Additional details
- The Seattle company plans to become a big player in the nascent field of satellite servicing, using its line of Otter craft to repair, refuel or deorbit other satellites for a variety of customers.
- "An investigation into the loss of communications has determined that fault protection on the satellite bus provided by [California company] Astro Digital had an error that turned off the radio and prevented re-establishing communications," Starfish added.
- "This advances NASA's in-space manufacturing and assembly (ISAM) goals to ensure a sustainable space operating environment and builds towards a future where objects can be assembled, repaired and maintained in space, significantly expanding possibilities for science and human exploration," the agency added.
- Otter Pup 2, which launched in June 2025, has been getting closer and closer to another private spacecraft, Gilmour Space's ElaraSat.
- 1 on SpaceX 's Transporter-18 mission, a rideshare flight that carried a total of 130 payloads to LEO (including a prototype satellite for Project Suncatcher, Google's planned AI constellation).
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
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