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Issue file · activeTracking since Nov 4 · 2 articles · 2 outlets
Government-funded on-orbit servicing and inspection demonstrations
Federal funding, mission assurance, and procurement for commercial in-space servicing, inspection, and orbital debris remediation, including NASA's SSPICY inspection award to Starfish Space, Space Force and SDA interest in servicing and inspection capabilities, and risk tolerance and oversight for commercial demonstration failures like the loss of Otter 24C.
Space
Articles · 14 days
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- Payload · Wednesday, Nov 4
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30 days back, 14 ahead · hollow = scheduledWhat's happening
Updated 6d agoStarfish Space's first Otter servicing spacecraft, Otter 24C, has been declared unrecoverable after a bus fault disabled its radio during commissioning, ending NASA's roughly $15M SSPICY debris-inspection demo about a month after launch. Separately, NASA's $30M Katalyst Space contract for a Swift Observatory rescue shows continued federal appetite for commercial servicing. No upcoming hearing, deadline or vote appears in the items.
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6d agoOur first signal
Hill
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Contracts
From news coverageNASA's SSPICY inspection mission was a $15M award that ended with the Otter 24C loss; NASA also contracted Katalyst Space for $30M in September 2025 to revamp a Swift rescue mission using its LINK spacecraft.
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Who covered it, when
A dot per article · ringed = earliest in our sourcesForces at work
share of articles- Technical milestones2 · 67%Otter 24C was lost after an Astro Digital bus fault-protection error turned off its radio during commissioning, ending SSPICY; Starfish and NASA positions on future plans and remaining objectives are mixed.Starfish Space · Astro Digital · NASA
- Threats & findings1 · 33%NASA's $30M Katalyst contract to retool a Swift Observatory rescue with the LINK spacecraft continues the federal push for commercial servicing despite the Otter loss.NASA · Katalyst Space
In the news
2 articles6d agoSpace.comStarfish Space loses contact with 1st 'Otter' servicing spacecraft, ending NASA tech-demo mission 11d agoPayloadStarfish Loses Contact with Otter, Cutting SSPICY Short