The view from Northrop Grumman’s MEV-2 spacecraft as it approached to dock with the Intelsat satellite IS-1002.
Intelsat
Two airlines first set up an industry on Monday when a small Northrop Grumman spacecraft with an active Intelsat satellite successfully moored to provide service and extend its lifespan.
Intelsat’s IS-1002 satellite is nearly 18 years old and is operating beyond its expected lifespan, but the Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft called MEV-2 will add another five years of life to IS-1002. it’s a new engine for control.
The companies reached a milestone in the growing ministry of satellites while in space.
“The successful docking of our second Mission Extension Vehicle today further demonstrates the reliability, safety and usefulness of logistics space,” said Tom Wilson, vice president of Nothrop Grumman’s strategic space systems, in a statement. “The success of this mission paves the way for our second-generation service satellites and robotics, providing flexibility and resilience for both commercial and government satellite operators, enabling entirely new classes of missions.”
Take a closer look at Intelsat’s IS-1002 satellite as MEV-2 approaches to engage in orbit.
Intelsat
Extending the life of an active spacecraft in orbit has only been done before with human assistance – such as the Hubble Telescopic Services performed by NASA astronauts.
The robot MEV-2, which was launched in August on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket, has been traveling to the satellite for the past few months. MEV-2 then matches its orbit before it is successfully coupled, while also providing unique footage of the satellite as the spacecraft approaches.
IS-1002 was launched in June 2004 and was only intended to serve 13 years and provide broadband communications services to Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East. The satellite is in a fixed position above the Earth in a geosynchronous orbit – tens of thousands of kilometers further to provide such a wide coverage area as is effectively possible.
The MEV-2 mission builds on the success of Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 mission last year, which was encouraged with an inactive Intelsat satellite. The satellite was in a ‘cemetery orbit’, meaning he no longer provided services, but MRS-1 repaired it and moved the satellite back into position.
The MEV-2 spacecraft, although similar to MEV-1, took the mission a step further by connecting and extending the life of a satellite currently in service.
Northern Sky Research, a satellite consulting firm, estimates that the market for satellite services and life extension is a $ 3.2 billion opportunity over the next decade.
The firm predicts that by 2030 there will be a demand for the deployment of 75 satellites, while businesses and governments want to extend the lifespan of typically expensive geosynchronous equatorial orbiting satellites, rather than start replacements.