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In-Space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM)

Robots are poised to make what was once thought to be impossible in space a reality.

From extending the lifespan of satellites, to assembling massive life-seeking telescopes in space, to refueling and repairing spacecraft on journeys to distant locations, the possibilities are endless. To achieve these endeavors it is essential to demonstrate foundational capabilities – servicing, assembly, and manufacturing.

Flight Projects
Applications
Research
Persistent Platforms
ISAM State of Play
Technology Catalog
Workshops and Events
Calendar

Servicing

Assembly is the practice of gathering two or more parts together in space into a single, functional aggregate structure. A suite of assembly capabilities allows us to launch individual parts to space separately and bring them together, thereby overcoming the constraints of rocket fairing volume limitations.

The ability to launch individual components of a large structure and robotically assemble them in space brings seemingly impossible concepts within reach. This capability allows for assembly of habitats in places further away than low-Earth orbit and opens up the door for constructing large telescopes and other platforms.

Related Article : Astronauts, Robots and the History of Fixing and Building Things in Space
Servicing the Hubble Space Telescope
Servicing the Hubble Space Telescope
NASA

ISAM Flight Projects

Robotic Refueling Mission

Robotic Refueling Mission-3

Robotic Refueling Mission 3 (RRM3) will advance satellite servicing capabilities and enabling long duration, deep space exploration.

Robotic Refueling Mission 1&2

View the Robotic Refueling Mission 3 Flickr gallery

OSAM-1

On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1)

On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 (OSAM-1) a robotic spacecraft equipped with the tools, technologies and techniques needed to extend satellites' lifespans – even if they were not designed to be serviced on orbit.

Illustration of OSAM-2 (On-Orbit Servicing, Manufacturing and Assembly).

On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 2 (OSAM-2)

NASA and its partners were developing robotic technologies to autonomously manufacture and assemble hardware, components, and tools in space.

Robotic Servicing Arm

Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS)

This program intends develop technologies that would enable cooperative inspection and servicing in GEO and demonstrating those technologies on orbit.

This image shows the latest progress NASA has made in manufacturing the liquid oxygen tank for the second core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The liquid oxygen tank will be used for the first crewed mission, Artemis II, of the agency’s Artemis program. Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans recently completed internal cleaning of the liquid oxygen, or LOX, tank at the facility. Following the cleaning, crews prepared the propellant tank for the next phase of phase of assembly in a different area of the factory by moving, or breaking over, the tank from a vertical to horizontal position. The LOX tank is one of five major elements that make up the rocket’s massive 212-foot-tall core stage. The propellant tank holds 196,000 gallons of supercooled liquid oxygen to help fuel four RS-25 engines, and the internal cleaning ensures no contaminants make their way into the complex propulsion and engine systems of the deep space rocket. The stage, which includes a cluster of four RS-25, will produce more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch the SLS rocket and astronauts aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft around the Moon for Artemis II. NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The agency’s SLS rocket offers more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through deep space and enable NASA’s Artemis lunar program. SLS, along with Orion, the human landing system, and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. No other rocket is capable of carrying astronauts in Orion around the Moon in a single mission.

Gateway

Gateway is a lunar space station that will serve as an important part of NASA’s Artemis program.

CLPS This orthographic projection is centered on the south polar region of the moon as seen by NASA's Clementine spacecraft. The Schrodinger Basin is located in the lower right of the mosaic.

Lunar Experiment Support System and Handling (LESSH)

Lunar Experiment Support System and Handling (LESSH) is a science instrument package that will be deployed in space beginning with Artemis III.

ISAM Research

James Webb Telescope

NASA in-Space Assembled Telescope (iSAT) Study

Large aperture telescopes benefit all astrophysics as well as planetary and Earth science. They provide unprecedented spatial resolution, spectral coverage, and signal to noise, advancing all of these science areas.

Jennifer Allen routes cables through the TALISMAN.

Tension Actuated in Space MANipulator (TALISMAN)

Asteroid Capture Robotics is currently focused on developing robotics solutions for capturing asteroids for infusion into the Asteroid Redirect Mission and crosscutting applications of long reach manipulators.

ARMADAS

Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS)

The Automated Reconfigurable Mission Adaptive Digital Assembly Systems (ARMADAS) project is developing software and hardware that will be able to autonomously assemble materials to make a variety of functional structures such as habitat structures, large antennae arrays, and even a spaceport.<br>

Applications

Large Telescopes

Starshades are large, deployable structures that can help in the search for life on planets outside our Solar System.

Being able to launch the components of a large, deep-space telescope separately and assemble them in space can break the current constraint of telescopes needing to be small enough to fit on a single launch vehicle. Technologies demonstrated by ISAM are laying the groundwork for in-space assembled observatories to peer deeper into our universe and possibly find life beyond Earth.

Starshades

Starshades are large, deployable structures that can help in the search for life on planets outside our Solar System.

Technologies demonstrated by ISAM are laying the groundwork for in-space assembled observatories to peer deeper into our universe and possibly find life beyond Earth. With the ability to launch components of a large, deep-space telescope separately and assemble them in space, telescopes will no longer need to be small enough to fit on a single launch vehicle.

Starshades are large, deployable structures that can help in the search for life on planets outside our Solar System
Starshades are large, deployable structures that can help in the search for life on planets outside our Solar System
NASA

Persistent Platforms

On-orbit Assembly, and Manufacturing can be used to construct support structures in space, thereby enabling persistent orbital platforms that can be repeatedly reconfigured and renewed. Persistent platforms can efficiently host short-term technology demonstration payloads launched without dedicated spacecraft. These payloads would rely on the platform for all engineering resources, including removal and disposal at the end of the demonstration and then freeing up the position for the next payload.

Persistent platforms can also provide long-term hosting of complementary instrument suites that provide synergistic science from overlapping fields of view. Furthermore, unmanned persistent platforms can provide considerably better pointing knowledge and stability than the international space station (ISS), without manned safety requirements and obstructions. A robotically equipped persistent platform creates a flexible environment for adapting and reconfiguring payloads, and continuously expanding On-orbit resources.

Sustainable Exploration

There are three basic needs for sustainable space exploration: consumable replenishment and component repair (servicing), construction of large and precise structures (assembly), and creation of components from feedstock or in-situ resources (manufacturing) to break the dependence on earth supply chain logistics.

ISAM capabilities are critical to developing sustainable space architectures that will allow spacecraft to live longer and journey farther, as well as enabling a sustained human presence in space. Robotic ISAM technologies facilitate the replenishment of supplies that run out of spacecraft fuel, to coolant, to oxygen. They can help ensure the longevity and operability of spacecraft and life support systems with unplanned repair and planned maintenance.

Artemis and Sustainable Exploration
Human Landing Vehicle for Artemis missions
NASA

ISAM State of Play

The ISAM State of Play document is a survey of past, present, and near future ISAM capabilities across industry and government agencies. It was produced to promote awareness of the breadth of ISAM investments and developments within the aerospace community, with the hope of fostering dialog, partnerships, and innovation. The ISAM State of Play can inform architecture studies, mission formulation, and pathfinding options to establish an economic ISAM ecosystem.

The 2024 ISAM State of Play is the fourth release of the document and provides significant updates, including the addition of three new cross-cutting capability areas with 76 activities. The document characterizes the state of ISAM through its collection of 312 functional capability area activities, 56 facilities, and 114 developers. Best efforts are made to incorporate all pertinent information. Comments, corrections, or additions are encouraged to ensure the current state-of-the-art is properly captured. Any recommendations will be assessed and incorporated into future editions of the ISAM State of Play, which are scheduled to be released on a yearly cadence. Feedback for the ISAM State of Play can be provided to the authors through email.

View the 2024 ISAM State of Play Document

ISAM State of Play

ISAM Technology Catalog

NASA’s Technology Transfer Program ensures that innovations developed for exploration and discovery are broadly available to the public, maximizing benefits nationwide.  Whether you’re looking to start a new company, enhance an existing product, or create a new product line, you can gain a competitive edge in the marketplace by putting NASA technology to work for you.

The ISAM Technology Catalog provides domestic companies with insight and access to technology NASA has developed in support of spaceflight missions, technology demonstration, or in pursuit of concept development. By transferring technology as it is developed rather than only after it has been demonstrated in orbit, NASA expedites new capabilities into the commercial market and promotes U.S. global leadership in ISAM capability. Organizations interested in commercializing ISAM technologies are invited to contact the points of contact listed in the catalog to discuss how they can be adapted for other spaceflight and surface applications.

The full version of the ISAM Technology Catalog is available to domestic companies by contacting Patty Manalansan at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, who controls the release of the catalog. An NDA is required as the catalog contains export controlled technical data.

Preview the Catalog (PDF)

Workshops and Events

Beginning in 2016, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate has hosted yearly opportunities for industry, academia, and other government agencies to share critical developments in ISAM. These events seek to spark collaboration between domestic groups dedicated to ISAM technologies and develop a shared vision for the future of ISAM services.

Information about recent ISAM workshops may be found below, followed by a calendar of other relevant events. Information about future workshops will be posted here when available.

2024 Calendar

May 8-9

In-Orbit Servicing and Manufacturing (IOSM) Conference @ Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

May 8-10

International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) 4th Conference on Space Situational Awareness (ICSSA 2024) @ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, FL

May 13-17

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Robotics and Animation (ICRA 2024) @ Pacific Convention Plaza in Yokohama, Japan

May 14

Rendezvous Proximity Operations (RPO) Workshop @ Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) in North Logan, UT

May 15-16

Consortium for Space Mobility and In-space Servicing Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM) Capabilities (COSMIC) Workshop @ Utah State University Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) in North Logan, UT

May 27-31

Small Satellites Systems and Services Symposium (4S Symposium) @ Palma Convention Centre in Palma de Mallorca, Spain

June 2-4

Space Tech Expo @ Long Beach Convention Centre, Long Beach, CA

June 5-6

Defense Strategies Institute (DSI) SmallSat & Space Access Summit@ National Harbor, MD

Jun 17-21

17th Spacecraft Charging and Technology Conference (SCTC 2024) @ Place du Palais in Avignon, France

Jul 11-12

Secure World Foundation 6th Summit for Space Sustainability @ National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation in Tokyo, Japan

Jul 13-21

Committee on Space Research (COSPAR 2024) 45th Scientific Assembly @ Busan Exhibition and Convention Center (BEXCO) in Busan, South Korea

Jul 30-Aug 1

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Accelerating Space Commerce, Exploration, and New Discovery (ASCEND) @ Caesars Forum, Las Vegas, NV

Aug 3-8

Small Satellite Conference @ Utah State University in North Logan, UT

Aug 7-8

NASA and the University of Maryland host Pioneering Sustainable Observatories Workshop @ Iribe Center in College Park, MD

Aug 26-28

2nd International Summit on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence (ISRAI 2024) in Valencia, Spain

Aug 28-Sep 1

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE 2024) @ Nicolas Hotel in in Bari, Italy

Sept 26-27

Space Logistics Conference@ Hilton Arlington in Arlington, VA

Oct 14-18

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Robotics Society of Japan (RSJ) International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2024)  @ Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC) in Al Ma’arid, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

Oct 14-18

International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2024) @ MiCo Convention Centre in in Milan, Italy

Oct 21-22 

Satellite Innovation @ Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA 

Oct 23-24 

MilSat Symposium @ Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA

Nov 13-14

Consortium For Execution of Rendezvous and Servicing Operations (CONFERS) 7th Annual Global Satellite Servicing Forum & Exhibition (GSSF&E) @ The Westin Arlington Gateway, Arlington, VA

Nov 19-21

Australia’s National Science Agency Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) 16th International Symposium on AI, Robotics and Automation in Space (i-SAIRAS) @ Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre in Brisbane, Australia

Dec 9-13

Joint Army Navy NASA Air Force (JANNAF) Interagency Propulsion Committee @ Hilton Charlotte University Place in Charlotte, North Carolina

ISAM News

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