NASA’s Restore-L program, which aims to demonstrate the ability to robotically service satellites in space, has completed its preliminary design review (PDR), according to Space Systems Loral (SSL), which is building the mission’s spacecraft bus.

The three-day review, which took place in late July at SSL facilities in Palo Alto, Calif., concluded that the Restore-L design meets system requirements, the company said Aug. 8. Restore-L can now enter its detailed design phase.

An artist's rendering of Restore-L. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
An artist’s rendering of Restore-L. (Photo courtesy of NASA)

Restore-L is slated to be launched in 2020 to grasp and refuel the U.S. Geological Survey’s Landsat-7 Earth-imaging satellite, which is in low Earth orbit.

“Satellite servicing in low Earth orbit is of great value for NASA exploration and science architectures as well as national security,” said Richard White, president of SSL Government Systems. “With the PDR successfully completed, we are on track to developing a capability that helps maintain our country’s international position as a leader in advanced space technology.”

NASA’s fiscal year 2018 budget request would de-fund Restore-L, opting instead to develop servicing-related technologies that industry could use to build systems. But lawmakers have expressed skepticism about the private sector’s interest, and the Senate Appropriations Committee agreed July 27 to provide $130 million to continue Restore-L (Defense Daily, July 27).