Aerial view of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in 2010. Photo by Bill Hrybyk/NASA Goddard
By James Matheson and Shaun Chornobroff
WASHINGTON – Nine Maryland lawmakers wrote NASA this week, demanding to know why the agency is planning the termination of a multibillion-dollar spacecraft program that was developed at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.
The On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 project, known as OSAM-1, was expected to service existing satellites and expand their lifespans in space. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said the project “has the potential to offer an innovative solution for extending the lifespans of our satellites while keeping them in orbit.”
“Despite Team Maryland’s efforts to preserve this important mission and renewed work at Goddard to keep it on track for a 2026 launch, NASA has decided to move forward on canceling this program,” Van Hollen said in a statement. “Given the abrupt nature of this decision and the lack of a sufficient explanation to Congress as to why it was made, we’re seeking immediate answers from NASA.”
The lawmakers’ letter, dated Sept. 16 and addressed to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, was signed by Van Hollen and fellow Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, as well as Democratic Reps. Steny Hoyer, Glenn Ivey, Dutch Ruppersberger, Jamie Raskin, Kweisi Mfume, David Trone and John Sarbanes.
Rep. Andy Harris, the lone Republican in the Maryland congressional delegation, was the only state lawmaker not on the letter. His office did not respond to Capital News Service’s request for comment.
The letter said the U.S. does not currently have technology that offers the services and quality that OSAM-1 was supposed to provide.
A rendering of the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) spacecraft NASA is canceling. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
“We do have adversaries who are also operating satellites in that zone: Russia, China and the like,” Ivey told CNS. “It’s important for the United States to develop its capabilities with respect to whether it’s research or defensive applications that we might need.”
Ivey, whose 4th District includes Goddard, said ending the project would hurt many of his constituents.
“From a district piece, this could mean the loss of hundreds of jobs, engineers, scientists, the backbone of the research quadrant that we have up there in that part of Prince George’s County,” he said. “There’s 10,000 employees up there at NASA Goddard. We also have other assets that leverage what they do.”
Since its start in 2015, the project has suffered substantial cost increases and delays. On March 1, NASA announced a shutdown of the mission.
“Following an in-depth, independent project review, NASA has decided to discontinue the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) project due to continued technical, cost, and schedule challenges, and a broader community evolution away from refueling unprepared spacecraft, which has led to a lack of a committed partner,” NASA said in a statement at the time.
Nevertheless, Congress provided $227 million for OSAM-1 in the fiscal 2024 budget and aimed for the spacecraft’s launch in 2026.
The lawmakers’ letter said that in April NASA received an updated plan that met both Congress’ launch and budget requirements. But on Sept. 4, members of the Maryland delegation learned of NASA’s decision to pull the plug on OSAM-1.
“We are currently witnessing a commercial boom in space launches, and it is critical that NASA commits to the priority of controlling the growth of orbital debris, especially during a time when private actors may not feel incentivized to do so,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers added that some of the criteria NASA used to cancel the satellite were not based on congressional directives. “We have concerns regarding the Agency’s decision-making process,” they wrote.
The delegation set a deadline of Monday — one week after the letter was dated — for NASA to respond.
“The bottom line of the request is, give us a scientific explanation for why you’ve done what you’ve done here,” Ivey said. “Why have you called for this to terminate?”
NASA confirmed to CNS that it received the letter and will respond directly to the Maryland delegation, but did not respond when asked if the agency would meet the Monday deadline.