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NASA has announced the ending of the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) project. This decision comes after an “in-depth, independent” review highlighted the program’s unsustainable technical, cost, and scheduling issues.

The project, initiated in 2015 in partnership with Maxar and managed by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, aimed to develop a system for refueling spacecraft in orbit. However, it faced numerous obstacles, leading to a dramatic increase in expected costs and significant delays.

The project’s discontinuation was attributed 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,” according to a NASA news release. An October report from NASA’s Inspector General further detailed the issues, pointing to “poor contractor performance and continued technical challenges” as key factors in the project’s downfall. This report highlighted that the agency was on track to exceed its $2 billion budget, with the launch date pushed beyond the initially planned December 2026.

The NASA report also criticized Maxar’s performance on the spacecraft bus and SPIDER contracts, noting that each deliverable was approximately two years behind schedule.