For the first time ever, a robotic spacecraft caught an old satellite and extended its life
For the first time ever, a robotic spacecraft caught an old
satellite and extended its life
@THESHEETZTWEETZ PUBLISHED FRI, APR 17 20209:18 AM
EDT
KEY
POINTS
- A small spacecraft built by
Northrop Grumman succeeded in docking with Intelsat’s IS-901 satellite and
returning it to service for another five years.
- The feat is a space industry first,
as extending the life of spacecraft already in orbit has only been done
with human help before.
- “Intelsat is proud to have pioneered this innovative first with Northrop Grumman,” the company’s chief services officer Mike DeMarco said in a statement.
Intelsat’s
IS-901 satellite is nearly 20 years old, and well beyond its expected lifespan,
but a small spacecraft built by Northrop Grumman succeeded
in docking with the satellite and giving it another five years of service, the
companies announced on Friday.
The feat is a space industry first, as
extending the life of spacecraft already in orbit has only been done with human
help before – such as the Hubble telescope servicing missions conducted by NASA
astronauts.
Northrop
Grumman’s spacecraft MEV-1 successfully docked with IS-901 on Feb. 25.
Intelsat’s satellite was launched in June 2001 and was only intended to serve
for 13 years, providing communications services in the Atlantic Ocean region.
The satellite is in a fixed position above the Earth in what is known
as geosynchronous orbit – tens of thousands of miles up to provide as wide
a coverage area as effectively possible.
MEV-1 traveled out to the satellite, matched
its orbit and then successfully docked with IS-901. In the process, MEV-1 took
one-of-a-kind images of IS-901, as a geosynchronous satellite had never been
seen from the view of another spacecraft before.
“Intelsat is proud to have pioneered this
innovative first with Northrop Grumman,” the company’s chief services officer
Mike DeMarco said in a statement. “We see increased demand for our connectivity
services around the world, and preserving our customers’ experience using
innovative technology such as MEV-1 is helping us meet that need.”
IS-901 has now returned to service, with MEV-1
essentially fueling and steering the satellite. MEV-1 will provide five years
of life extension services to the satellite before returning IS-901 to an orbit
for decommissioning. Then MEV-1 will be available to provide extension services
for other satellites in orbit.
Intelsat has a contract with Northrop Grumman
for a second mission extension spacecraft, MEV-2, which the company plans to
use to service Intelsat’s 1002 satellite later this year.
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