NASA's Otter Will Inspect Dead Satellites From a Few Hundred Yards
NASA's SSPICY mission, short for Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability, launched on October 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Its spacecraft, Otter, was built by Starfish Space, and it is a technology demonstration rather than a single errand: it will approach up to four inoperable objects of U.S. origin in low Earth orbit.
In early 2027, Otter will begin navigating within hundreds of yards of each object to perform inspections, using autonomous guidance and control software with minimal input from ground controllers. That clause about autonomy is doing the real work. Closing on an object is only half the problem; deciding where you are and what you are looking at, without a human on the stick, is the other half.
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During those inspections, Otter is meant to collect spin rate, orientation and surface condition for each object. That is precisely the set of measurements that determines whether a piece of dead hardware can be serviced later, or only closely watched.
Computer vision and onboard sensors are what let the software make real-time navigation decisions as it closes in, rather than a controller nudging it through the final approach from the ground.