Starfish Space loses contact with 1st 'Otter' servicing spacecraft, ending NASA tech-demo mission
Starfish Space's first Otter servicing spacecraft suffered a glitch in orbit recently, ending its technology-demonstrating mission for NASA.
Starfish Space has lost contact with its first Otter spacecraft just a month after reaching orbit, marking the end of a NASA technology demonstration mission. The Seattle startup announced the loss on Tuesday (Nov. 3), stating that the satellite suffered a glitch in low Earth orbit (LEO) and is unrecoverable. Launched on Oct. 1 via SpaceX's Transporter-18 mission, Otter 24C was still in commissioning when it stopped transmitting data.
An investigation revealed that a fault in Astro Digital's onboard radio caused the communication loss, rendering the satellite unrecoverable. Despite the setback, Starfish emphasizes that the work done with Otter 24C will contribute to future missions aimed at making satellite servicing a routine capability in orbit. Meanwhile, Starfish's Otter Pup 2 prototype spacecraft is currently operating within 25 meters of another private satellite, ElaraSat, from Gilmour Space, practicing for a historic docking in low Earth orbit.
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