NASA Awards Contract For Refueling Spacecraft

Performing repairs in space can be a challenging task. But the Restore-L spacecraft is designed to grab other satellites in orbit to help refuel, repair and redeploy damaged crafts.

Popular Mechanics reported that the project is from a private satellite company named Space Systems/Loral (SSL) in Palo Alto, California, and is awarded by NASA of a $127 million contract to complete and finish by 2020. Restore-L will not only be a spacecraft bus but will also serve as a critical engineering service for deployment and operations. Other than these, it will also provide other related services to help accomplish mission integration, tests, launching and other operations.

The Project is managed in NASA's Satellite Servicing Projects Division at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. It was established in 2009 to continue the legacy of satellite servicing and repair.

Frank Cepollina, the director of the Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office (SSCO), announced that "Restore-L effectively breaks the paradigm of one-and-done spacecraft."

The Restore-L is particularly helpful, considering that spacecrafts usually enter the void with a limited amount of fuel -- and the ability to refuel in space could lengthen the lives of satellites, and even open up the possibility of long-term missions. Space News noted that SSL, along with its parent company MDA of Canada, has been entertaining the notion of having commercial in-orbit servicing in space.

SSL has been tinkering with space robotics experiences through government programs with NASA, as well as Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The Restore-L will add to its lists of accomplishments, especially considering NASA's intentions of transferring the technology for commercial purposes.

The contract between NASA and SSL has a maximum value of $127 million, including a three-year core period and a two-year indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity clause. Fueling aside, the agency also believes that the Restore-L can contribute to other repairs, space assembly and even de-orbiting and debris removal.