A federal judge has told the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that it can proceed with developing a satellite-servicing spacecraft, rebuffing Orbital ATK [OA], which charged that the government program unfairly backs a competitor.

Orbital ATK, which is developing its own satellite servicer, argued in a lawsuit filed in February that the DARPA program, which shares costs and responsibilities with commercial partner Space Systems Loral (SSL), violates multiple provisions of the 2010 national space policy, including one that prevents the government from competing with the private sector.

Artist's illustration of DARPA's proposed RSGS satellite. Photo: DARPA.
Artist’s illustration of DARPA’s proposed RSGS satellite. Photo: DARPA.

But on July 12, U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema of the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed the lawsuit, concluding that the space policy is for the “internal management of the executive branch” and does not have the force of law.

DARPA and SSL both welcomed the judge’s decision. DARPA has insisted that its program, known as Robotic Servicing of Geostationary Satellites (RSGS), focuses on inspection, repairs and upgrades, while Orbital ATK’s effort is geared toward life extension.

“DARPA appreciates the court’s careful consideration of this case and is gratified by the judge’s decision,” agency spokesman Jared Adams said. “We look forward to continuing our collaboration with public and private entities in pursuit of our ambitious goal of robotic satellite servicing on orbit.”

Mike Gold, SSL’s vice president of Washington operations, said, “America has never been more dependent on its space-based systems, and they have never been under greater threat, which is why I am excited that the innovative RSGS public-private partnership has been and will continue to proceed with alacrity.”

Orbital ATK signaled that it is not done challenging the RSGS program, which aims to launch an unmanned robotic servicing vehicle in late 2020 or early 2021.

The court ruling “effectively returns the issue to the executive branch and Congress for resolution,” Orbital ATK said. “We intend to work with those in the [Trump] administration, [the Defense Department] and Congress who believe in fair competition and would never want U.S. taxpayer dollars to favor one company over others.”

Despite the legal setback, Orbital ATK said it plans to proceed with launching its first satellite-servicing spacecraft, the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-1), in late 2018. The unmanned MEV-1 is supposed to extend the service life of an Intelsat [I] communications satellite by docking with the satellite and taking over its propulsion and attitude control.

RSGS and MEV both focus on geosynchronous Earth orbit satellites, in contrast to NASA’s Restore-L program, which targets low Earth orbit satellites. SSL is building the spacecraft bus for Restore-L.