Northrop Grumman has written a new line in the history books, the company's Mission Extension Vehicle 1 (MEV-1) executing the first undocking of two commercial satellites in geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) – heralding a new age of commercial space operations.
Built and operated by SpaceLogistics LLC, a Northrop Grumman subsidiary, MEV-1 had already made history on February 25, 2020 when it docked with the decommissioned Intelsat IS-901 communications satellite in GEO at an altitude of 22,000 miles (36,000 km) above the Earth.
Paradoxically, there was nothing wrong with the US$250-million IS-901 even after 15 years of service. The only reason it was taken out of service and shunted into a graveyard orbit was that it had run out of the propellant that it needed to keep it in its proper orbit and maintain attitude control.
Instead of tossing out a perfectly good piece of hardware, Northrop developed the MEV as a life-extension spacecraft that can not only bring defunct satellites back into service, it can also dock with craft that were never designed with a docking mechanism.
The MEV-1 managed its docking feat with a special probe that inserts into the main engine nozzle of the target satellite and locks itself in. It then takes over the propulsion and attitude control duties, allowing the satellite to be reactivated and put back on the job.
All that sounds pretty straightforward, but a simple description covers some very complex engineering. Rendezvousing with an orbital satellite, especially in GEO using a robotic spacecraft, is far from easy as the approaching spacecraft matches orbit, inspects the target, and orients itself for docking – an operation that takes three months. Then it's a matter of very slowly and carefully getting close to the target without colliding with it, lining up just right, reaching out with little manipulator arms that need to find something to grab hold of, extending the probe and pulling the target's rocket nozzle onto it in an operation that produces a very disturbing mental picture.
Not only was the 2020 docking successful, but MEV-1 was able to demonstrate its ability to keep IS-901 in service for an additional five years. Before it was undocked on April 9, 2025, MEV-1 pushed the re-decommissioned coms satellite back into a graveyard orbit where it won't pose a hazard to navigation.
MEV-1 is currently en route to another satellite that it will dock with. Meanwhile, MEV-2 is scheduled to remain docked to Intelsat 10-02 for another four years before moving on.
These missions are more than a demonstration of technological capabilities; they are a harbinger of the future of commercial space operations. These service spacecraft are opening a whole new market with their ability to extend the life of satellites that would otherwise be so much cosmic scrap.
Such rendezvous will likely become more common as new satellites are designed to accommodate visiting servicers. These more advanced versions of the MEV will not only act as propulsion modules, they will be able to refuel satellites, repair them, and even disassemble them in salvage operations to recover components that can be installed in new satellites without having to return them to Earth.
Hopefully, salvage laws for space will be updated accordingly.
"The first-of-its-kind technology that extended a satellite’s life is paving the way for an entire infrastructure of future on-orbit satellite servicing missions for a variety of customers," said Rob Hauge, president, Space Logistics. "We are continuing to invest in next-generation capabilities to deliver the most technologically advanced servicing capabilities to support and maintain new and existing space-based assets."
Source: Northrop Grumman