WASHINGTON – NASA described a plan to launch a multi-billion dollar spacecraft in 2026 as “overly optimistic and not credible” in a September letter to Maryland lawmakers that Capital News Service obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests.
On Sept. 4, NASA informed Congress it was ending the $2 billion OSAM-1 project, which was expected to service existing satellites and expand their lifespans in space, among other capabilities.
Twelve days after the announcement, nine Maryland lawmakers demanded that NASA explain why it cancelled the project, which was based at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
In its response, dated Sept. 25, NASA cited numerous risks, an overly ambitious plan and a low return on investment as rationales for ending the project.
“The majority of NASA technology demonstrations are less complex and have orders of magnitude lower project lifecycle costs (in the $10 million-$100 million range) than OSAM-1,” said the letter signed by Alicia Brown, NASA’s associate administrator for the office of legislative and intergovernmental affairs. “Therefore, NASA is willing to take more risk in managing these technology demonstration projects. … OSAM-1 is considered by NASA to be a high cost and highly complex project.”
Multiple parts of NASA’s response were redacted in the copy of the letter CNS obtained.
Since its start in 2015, the OSAM-1 project has been subjected to sizable cost increases and delays, leading to NASA first announcing the mission’s shutdown on March 1. The agency has stood firm on its decision despite urging from the Congress, especially members of the Maryland delegation.
The NASA website for the project says the OSAM-1 mission “is developing an unprecedented capability for a robust, cost-effective space infrastructure.”
Despite NASA’s insistence on cancelling the mission, Maryland lawmakers continually have advocated for OSAM-1 to proceed, citing the importance of the project and the efforts of the workers at Goddard. As of Aug. 31, OSAM-1 had 249 contractors and 76 civil servants associated with the project, the letter said.
In a statement, Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Maryland Reps. Steny Hoyer and Glenn Ivey, maintained their criticism of NASA for ending the mission. Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger separately told CNS he concurred with the sentiments of his fellow Democrats.
“This critical program provided NASA a distinct solution to a difficult challenge: maintaining our satellites in space,” the lawmakers said.
“With the capabilities being developed by OSAM-1, NASA had the opportunity to both service satellites while still in orbit and extend the useful lives of these valuable assets,” they said. “In its shortsighted decision to cancel this mission, NASA has put these important long-term benefits aside, while also undermining the tireless efforts of our Goddard workforce.”
An OSAM-1 independent review estimated development of the mission would cost $1.6 billion, a 200 percent increase since its inception. Originally targeted to launch in 2020, OSAM-1 was years behind schedule.
Congress provided $227 million for OSAM-1 in the 2024 fiscal year budget and had a 2026 target launch for the spacecraft.
In the letter, NASA said any plan for a 2026 launch would involve risks not normally taken for a project this expensive. To execute the mission, NASA would have had to treat OSAM-1 as a Class D mission according to the letter, which normally represents a “lower priority mission with medium to low complexity.”
The cost to launch the proposed mission would be $353 million as of Oct. 1, while the shut down costs are $29 million, according to the letter.
One of the major dangers of the 2026 plan, according to the letter, was a reduction in testing. With the new plan, there would be less testing on the overall system, on the launch site and on some of the systems within the spacecraft.
“The project replanned OSAM-1 to adopt a ‘Class D-like’ risk posture typically reserved for smallsats and lower value, high risk tolerant assets – not a $2 billion spacecraft,” the letter said.
Despite OSAM-1 ending prematurely, NASA emphasized to the Maryland delegation that it sees Goddard as vital.
Goddard is home to the Nancy Grace Roman telescope, the Atmosphere Observing System mission and plays an important role in managing the Near Space Network, which provides communications services to missions within one million miles of earth, including the International Space Station.
Despite their disappointment, the Democratic lawmakers said they were committed to supporting contributions to space exploration coming out of Goddard.
“We strongly disagree with NASA’s decision and are deeply disappointed with their moving forward, despite clear Congressional opposition,” the lawmakers said. “Together, we will be fighting to secure critical funding for Goddard and Maryland’s major future programs.”