NASA and Starfish Space have inked a contract worth $15 million to inspect defunct satellites in Earth’s orbit ahead of future missions to deal with space junk.
The Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability (SSPICY) mission is funded over three years and will send Starfish’s Otter spacecraft to inspect disused US-owned satellites. Otter is to collect data on each satellite, including the rate and axis of spin and the condition of the surface materials.
Otter, the spacecraft to be used in the SSPICY mission, is designed to rendezvous with, dock, service, or deorbit satellites.
The spacecraft’s first commercial assignment will come in 2026, when it will be launched to provide services for Intelsat satellites. This calls for Otter to dock and maneuver a retired Intelsat satellite in the geostationary graveyard orbit. If all goes well, Otter will then dock with an operational Intelsat satellite and use its electric propulsion system to keep the satellite in an operational orbit for a few extra years.
SSPICY is more about inspecting satellites and demonstrating that the electric propulsion technology works as expected. Electric propulsion is not generally used for proximity and rendezvous operations. According to NASA, “The Otter spacecraft is expected to launch in late 2026 and will begin performing inspections in 2027.”
The commercial space debris inspection mission is a first for NASA, which is keen to extend the life of satellites while reducing space debris. SSPICY is, however, not the first ever expedition to image derelict spacecraft in orbit. In July, Astroscale Japan showed off images captured by its ADRAS-J spacecraft as it inspected an old HII-A upper stage.
SSPICY will not be Starfish Space’s first trip to orbit. In 2023, the company sent its Otter Pup to orbit on SpaceX’s Transport-8 mission. Things did not initially go well for the diminutive spacecraft. Otter Pup was stacked on top of Launcher’s Orbiter SN3, and the plan was for Starfish’s spacecraft to separate and use Orbiter as a rendezvous target.
It did not turn out that way. Orbiter went into a rapid spin after separating from the SpaceX Falcon upper stage. Thanks to quick thinking by controllers, Otter Pup was deployed, although it was left in a tumble of its own and only rescued by some impressive engineering efforts on the ground.
Otter Pup eventually managed to rendezvous with and image another satellite – the original plan with Orbiter was no longer viable – before being retired in May, having both validated Starfish’s technology and demonstrated the skill of the company’s engineers. ®