NASA Stops $2 Billion Project Due to Rising Costs and Delays

The U.S. space agency NASA has announced that it will halt a project valued at over $2 billion aimed at testing satellite services such as in-space refueling, citing high costs and a delayed schedule. The decision to stop the project was made due to "ongoing technical challenges, costs, and schedule, and the broader community's shift away from refueling uncrewed spacecraft, which resulted in a lack of a committed partner." Last October, NASA stated that the "Orbital Service and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) project" was still facing cost increases and was expected to surpass its allocated value of $2.05 billion, along with its planned launch date in December 2026. It noted that a primary reason for the project's cost increase and schedule delay was the "poor" performance of Maxar.