Otter 24C Performs NASA SSPICY Demonstration in Low Earth Orbit

The SSPICY technology demonstration is being performed by Otter 24C, a spacecraft developed and operated by Starfish Space. The mission's launch site is Vandenberg Space Force Base, and its orbit is low Earth orbit.

Starfish Space built the Otter spacecraft and developed and operates Otter 24C, which is performing SSPICY.

SSPICY is a technology demonstration funded by NASA's Small Spacecraft and Distributed Systems program. Starfish Space has received NASA SBIR/STTR awards, and the Otter spacecraft is NASA-supported.

The mission's launch site is Vandenberg Space Force Base, and its orbit is low Earth orbit.

The Otter spacecraft's listed capabilities include autonomous guidance and control software, computer vision and sensors, and navigation within hundreds of yards. Its status is that it will not touch or dock.

SSPICY includes an electric propulsion system and an articulating robotic boom. The mission's milestone is the first integrated system test.

SSPICY's payload is listed as inoperable space objects of U.S. origin. Payload information for the Otter spacecraft lists satellites and rocket bodies, along with spin rate, orientation, and surface condition.

The Otter spacecraft is linked to servicing or repairing objects in orbit, bringing objects into Earth's atmosphere for disposal, and reducing orbital debris. SSPICY is linked to future autonomous servicing and orbital debris inspection.

For readers tracking the lunar industry, the mission is relevant because it demonstrates autonomous guidance, computer vision, sensors and close navigation around space objects without docking.

The facts connect SSPICY to future autonomous servicing and orbital debris inspection.

Its debris-reduction focus and targeting of inoperable U.S. objects, including satellites and rocket bodies, matter because space objects can break apart or collide and the near-Earth environment is increasingly critical.