The view from Northrop Grumman’s MEV-2 spacecraft as it approached to dock with the Intelsat IS-1002 satellite.
Intelsat
Two aerospace companies hit an industry early Monday, as a small Northrop Grumman spacecraft successfully docked with an active Intelsat satellite to provide service and extend its life.
Intelsat’s IS-1002 satellite is almost 18 years old and operates well beyond its expected lifespan, but the Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft called MEV-2 will add five more years of life to the IS -1002, essentially refueling the satellite and donor is a new control engine.
The companies reached a milestone in the growing satellite service business while in space.
“The current docking of our second mission extension vehicle further demonstrates the reliability, security and usefulness of logistics in space,” said Tom Wilson, vice president of strategic space systems at Nothrop Grumman in a statement. . “The success of this mission paves the way for our second generation of satellite service and robotics, offering flexibility and resilience to both commercial and government satellite operators, which can enable completely new mission classes.” .
A detailed look at Intelsat’s IS-1002 satellite as MEV-2 approached to dock in orbit.
Intelsat
The extension of the life of an active spacecraft in orbit had only been done before with human help, such as the Hubble Telescope service missions conducted by NASA astronauts.
Launched in August with an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket, the MEV-2 robot spent the last few months traveling on the satellite. The MEV-2 matched its orbit before successfully docking, while providing unique satellite imagery as the spacecraft approached.
The IS-1002 was launched in June 2004 and was only expected to be in service for 13 years, providing broadband communications services in Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East. The satellite is in a fixed position above the Earth in what is known as a geosynchronous orbit: tens of thousands of miles to provide the widest possible coverage area.
The MEV-2 mission builds on the success of Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 mission last year, which it coupled with an inactive Intelsat satellite. That satellite was in a “cemetery orbit,” meaning it no longer provided services, but MEV-1 restored it and put the satellite back in position.
The MEV-2 spacecraft, although similar to the MEV-1, took this mission a step further by docking and extending the life of a satellite in service today.
Northern Sky Research, a satellite consulting firm, estimates that the market for satellite service and life extensions is a $ 3.2 billion opportunity over the next decade.
The company predicts that there will be demand for service in excess of 75 satellites by 2030, with companies and governments wanting to extend the lifespan of typically expensive geosynchronous equatorial orbit satellites, rather than launching replacements.