Intelsat, Telenor Satellite and Northrop Grumman have made another space technology breakthrough after docking a life-extension module to an existing satellite
They worked together to launch and dock Northrop Grumman’s mission extension vehicle MEV-2 to a satellite that provides communications to shipping, offshore and other maritime sectors in the North Atlantic, Europe, Middle East and Africa regions.
Northrop subsidiary SpaceLogistics’ vehicle MEV-2 connected with Intelsat and Telenor jointly owned satellite, IS 10-02 also known as Thor 10-02 in its operational geostationary orbital location, to provide enough fuel for five more years of service.
This is the second of these mission extension projects after MEV-1 connected with Intelsat’s IS-901 in February 2020.
MEV-2 will provide five years of service to IS-10-02, which was first launched in 2004, before undocking and moving on to provide services for a new mission.
Intelsat chief services officer Mike DeMarco said this was a ground-breaking mission and first-ever docking of a communications satellite in geostationary orbit.
“Space servicing is a valuable tool for Intelsat in extending the high-quality services,” said Mr DeMarco.
“Northrop Grumman’s MEV technology has helped us extend the life of two high-performing satellites, while focusing our innovation capital on advancing the Intelsat next-generation network – this technology is a ‘win-win’ for us.”
Telenor Satellite chief executive Morten Tengs said this was a historic mission for satellite communications.
“Delivering exceptional satellite connectivity to our clients is our primary focus, and as a result of this historic mission, we will continue to serve our maritime and offshore customers with the critical connectivity solutions they depend on,” said Mr Tengs.
MEV-2 is a lifeline for these services as its onboard propellant on Thor 10-02 was due to run out towards the end of 2021. The countdown started on 15 August 2020, when MEV-2 was launched from Kourou, French Guiana on board an Ariane 5 rocket.
Northrop Grumman vice president, strategic space systems and SpaceLogistics president Tom Wilson said this second MEV project “further demonstrates the reliability, safety and utility of in-space logistics” for future developments.
“The success of this mission paves the way for our second generation of servicing satellites and robotics, offering flexibility and resiliency for both commercial and government satellite operators, which can enable entirely new classes of missions,” said Mr Wilson.
Northrop is working with DARPA on a mission that will feature the first-ever commercial robotic servicing spacecraft.
This mission will expand the market for satellite servicing of both commercial and government client satellites with advanced robotics using the company’s mission robotics vehicle (MRV) to conduct in-orbit repair, augmentation, assembly, detailed inspection and relocation of client satellites through robotics.
MRV could be used to install mission-extension pods to existing satellites, with the first scheduled for launch in 2024.
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