Apparently, they would send one of their birds with a "parasite" module.
What if?? Say the James Webb telescope has a problem after it's deployment, could this servicing vehicle observe the exterior, aid in a plan to repair, if it is equipped with an arm, maybe it could do a repair. Didn't one of Lockheed's satellites AEHF kick motors fail a couple years ago and had to rely on its Hall effect thruster to raise the apogee.
Based on the Orbital legacy Geostar Satellite Platform and our Cygnus Autonomous Rendezvous technology, together with the ATK heritage Hubble space telescope servicing devices and other prior work. The first of these new geosynchronous orbit servicing vehicles if the project proceeds as expected will commence operations following launch in early 2019.Details on this project including anchor customer agreements and the technical capabilities of our servicing systems will be announced later this year.
At present, there is not and we do not anticipate government contribution to the space initiative. That is a new commercial service that we are preparing to offer and while over the long-term, government satellites may benefit from it and make use of it, we don't expect government funding during the development phase of that project.
Dulles, Virginia and Luxembourg 12 April 2016 – Orbital ATK, Inc. (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced that Intelsat, S.A. (NYSE: I), operator of the world’s first Globalized Network, has signed a contract to become the first customer for Orbital ATK’s new satellite life extension service. [...] Under the agreement, Orbital ATK will manufacture, test and launch the first Commercial Servicing Vehicle (CSV), the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), which incorporates flight-proven technologies the company has used in its commercial satellite and space logistics businesses. After successfully completing a series of in-orbit tests, the MEV-1 will begin its mission extension service for Intelsat in 2019.
I wonder if the MEV is small/light enough for launch on a Pegasus?EDIT: At 2,000kg it looks like they'd have to go to a third party launcher.
As another example in our Space Systems group, we announced in April, a five-year contract with Intelsat, the first customer for our in-space commercial satellite servicing system. This program is a great example of the new revenue opportunities created by our merger as we combine the Orbital legacy GEOStar satellite platform and Cygnus Autonomous Rendezvous technology with ATK Heritage Hubble telescope servicing devices and other prior work. If things proceed as planned, the first of an eventual fleet of up to five of these geosynchronous orbit servicing vehicles will commence operations following launch in early 2019, with four more such vehicles to follow in 2020 and 2021.
It will require the satellite not only to have propellant access, but also data, thermal and power hooks for the new payload and have surplus control authority. I bet that OrbitalATK can be an excellent partner for this sort of system.
Quote from: baldusi on 03/02/2016 04:19 pmIt will require the satellite not only to have propellant access, but also data, thermal and power hooks for the new payload and have surplus control authority. I bet that OrbitalATK can be an excellent partner for this sort of system.This is the part that i don't get. How do you 'hook' into data and power bus of a satellite, unless you have been building birds with this in mind for decades ?The video even explicitly says 'no power, data, fluid transfer or other interfaces are required' - which i presume applies only to the docking part.
MUOS-5 could be a candidate for Orbital servicing satellite.
Specially since they are still on a GTO. That still requires a GTO circularizaton (~1,800m/s delta-v). And the GTO are usually low lived, so you can't take much time. So you'd need to have a bird ready to launch. I seriously doubt it.
Our Space Systems Group early in the second quarter announced a five-year contract with Intelsat as the first customer for this satellite servicing system. Late in the second quarter, we completed a first system design review and placed long-lead material orders for the first of these satellite servicing vehicles, which is on track for delivery and launch in the final quarter of 2018; and after a checkout period, the commencement of service in the early 2019. Schedules, cost and the technical performance are proceeding as planned on that project at present.
Related:https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2016/10/ils-future-missions-launch-orbital-atks-mev-1/
And finally in our space systems group about earlier this year we announced a five-year contract with Intelsat, the first customer for our in space commercial satellite servicing system. We recently completed the designed review for the first servicing vehicle and secured a launch contract for it in late 2018.If things proceed as planned, the first of an eventual fleet of up to five of these geosynchronous orbit servicing vehicles will commence operations in early 2019 followed by four more vehicles some with enhanced capabilities that will follow in 2020 and 2021.
Dulles, Virginia 29 November 2016 – Orbital ATK (NYSE: OA), a global leader in aerospace and defense technologies, today announced that it has begun a public-private partnership with NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) to establish a Commercial Infrastructure for Robotic Assembly and Services (CIRAS) in space. The CIRAS program will advance key technologies for in-orbit manufacturing and assembly of large space structures that will help the agency meet its goals for robotic and human exploration of the solar system....Phase one of CIRAS began in September 2016 and will last a total of two years. During this period, Orbital ATK will lead the team in maturing technologies necessary for robotic assembly of large space structures, such as next-generation telescopes or solar-powered structures for transport or communications. These capabilities include methods to connect or disconnect joints on a structure and address precision measuring and alignment through a 15-meter robotic arm and a precision robot. The team will also develop the technology needed to conduct in-orbit modular assembly of structures, allowing parts to be brought to space as needed via multiple launches, which simplifies the design of spacecraft and reduces cost.
With regard to the satellite servicing program, the technical work is proceeding very well. The final design review of the system is coming up next month in June. We have set up a very helpful rendezvous and docking laboratory at our Dallas, Virginia satellite campus to test out both some of the docking hardware and also the control system software that we will be using, and things remain on track for the delivery to the launch site and the launch of the first satellite servicing vehicle at the end of next year. After a multi-month-long commissioning and checkout period, it will be placed into service to extend the life of Intelsat spacecraft in the -- about this time or a little earlier than this time in the first quarter of 2019. We are contemplating starting on a second servicing vehicle later this year. We haven't finalized those plans yet. But we continue to proceed along the lines of having a small fleet of up to 5 of these servicing systems in orbit by -- over the next 4, 5 years, some of which will have advanced capabilities, robotic capabilities beyond those of the first and second satellites. Customer demand for this type of in-space servicing continues to be good, and so the outlook is favorable for that new product initiative.There's certainly customer demand now for those services beyond what can be provided by the first vehicle. So I think it's likely we'll see additional customer commitments before the end of 2017.
Finally, in space systems early last year we initiated our commercial satellite servicing program with INTELSAT in Oregon to a five year contract as our anchor customer. Late last year we completed the initial design for the first vehicle we recently finalized the design that are now well into construction of that first mission extension vehicle that Garrett referred to. If things proceed as planned it will be the first of an eventual fleet of up to five of these geosynchronous orbit servicing vehicles this first one being launched late next year and commencing operations about 18 months from now in the early part of 2019.
Peter B. de Selding @pbdes 2h2 hours ago75% of components of 1st @OrbitalATK satellite Mission Extension Vehicle now built; system testing in spring; on track for late 2018 launch.
Peter B. de Selding @pbdes 4m4 minutes agoCulbertson @OrbitalATK : We're about to sign 2d customer for Mission Extension Vehicle sat servicing program. [@Intelsat's 1st, in 2019].
Michelle @spacechelle 2m2 minutes agoSpace Logistics LLC, subsidiary of @OrbitalATK is poised to be first to launch their satellite servicing vehicle. Planned for 2018 #IAC2017
Jeff Foust @jeff_foust 2m2 minutes agoTom Wilson, Space Logistics LLC: spending lot of time on regulatory issues for satellite life extension, but has been cooperative. #IAC2017
On December 5, 2017, the Satellite Division granted in part and deferred in part, with conditions, the request of Space Logistics, LLC for authority to construct, deploy, and conduct telemetry, tracking and command functions with its Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1). Space Logistics was authorized to conduct TT&C operations in the 5925-6425 MHz and 13.75-14.5 GHz (Earth-to-space), and 3700-4200 MHz and 11.45-12.25 GHz (space-to Earth) frequency bands as MEV-1: (i) is deployed from the launch vehicle; engages in orbit-raising maneuvers and conducts various post-launch system verification tests, and moves through the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO); (ii) raises its orbit to the geostationary orbit "graveyard" orbit 300 km above the GSO orbital arc; and (iii) performs rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking with the Intelsat-901 space station (Call Sign S2405) in the graveyard orbit. Space Logistics' request to relocate MEV-1 with Intelsat-901 to the orbital location of another operational Intelsat satellite was deferred. Action on Space Logistics' request to relocate MEV-1 to a graveyard orbit at the completion of Intelsat-901's mission and to undock MEV-1 after de-commissioning of Intelsat-901 was also deferred.
with the launch anomaly with SES-14 & AL YAH 3 (which is Orbital ATK Sat), could they launch MEV into direct insertion GEO to provide maximum MEV for these types of mission or slow and steady would be fine?
Bout time to bump this thread with launch tomorrow, updates in the Russian Launcher section:https://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=41418.0
Overview article!https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2019/10/proton-rocket-launch-northrop-extension-vehicle/- By Chris Gebhardthttps://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1181686045655683073
MEV-1 - Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle, launched Oct 9, has interrupted its move from super-synchronous orbit to GEO with no detectable thruster firings since Nov 19.https://twitter.com/Zarya_Info/status/1199070952400838657
Intelsat 901 and MEV-1 have matched orbitsUnknown how close they are to each other but probably in the tens of km, tracking sensors may be having difficulty separating them
Check out these captures using Canada’s NEOSSat and Sapphire satellites, as we assist in tracking the in-orbit docking experiment of the Northrop Grumman MEV-1 with Intelsat 901 in support of our Five-Eyes partner nations and the Phantom Echoes team.
The distance between the two satellites is now less than 50 km.
No news from @northropgrumman or @INTELSAT but...MEV-1 is sitting about 2 km from Intel 901, having closed the gap slowly over the past two weeks
The @northropgrumman MEV-1 satellite has now been within 5 km of its Intelsat 901 target for over a week. The detailed wiggles in this noisy plot based on the TLEs are not real but it gives an overall idea that the two sats remain closeThere has been no public statement by @northropgrumman on the status of the mission, but my understanding is that there may already have been several aborted approaches. I'd guess it may take them another week or so to dock successfully.The Fri 21 excursion might be a signature of an aborted approach and retreat followed by a re-approach
History in the making: Our MEV-1 has successfully docked with the @INTELSAT IS-901 satellite in orbit – a first for the industry. http://ngc.com/mev
These are photos taken by MEV-1 as it approached the IS-901 satellite and then docked, with Earth visible in the background of the second and third images.
History! northropgrumman has successfully docked their Mission Extension Vehicle to INTELSAT-901 in Geostationary graveyard orbit. 901 will now enjoy 5 years of prolonged telecommunications life.
An incredible achievement, congratulations to OrbitalATK.Would I be correct in thinking that this is the first time that two spacecraft have docked outside LEO since Apollo?
Quote from: Kaputnik on 02/26/2020 06:20 pmAn incredible achievement, congratulations to OrbitalATK.Would I be correct in thinking that this is the first time that two spacecraft have docked outside LEO since Apollo?No. Search for Orbital Express.
Quote from: DavidH on 02/27/2020 02:29 amQuote from: Kaputnik on 02/26/2020 06:20 pmAn incredible achievement, congratulations to OrbitalATK.Would I be correct in thinking that this is the first time that two spacecraft have docked outside LEO since Apollo?No. Search for Orbital Express.Thanks for the pointer, I had no idea anything that ambitious (orbital refueling of hydrazine + battery and computer swaps with a robotic arm) had actually been done before!According to Wikipedia, though, it seems Orbital Express only went to LEO (490km x 498km x 46.0 degrees). So today's MEV-1 docking may indeed be the first docking outside LEO since Apollo (unless there's another robotic satellite servicing mission in the history books I'm not aware of! ).
Our Mission Extension Vehicle made history when it docked to Intelsat’s IS-901 satellite. This animation features real images from the February 25 docking. Learn more here: ngc.com/mev
IS-901 & MEV-1 have slotted back into GEO this week next to IS-907 at 27.5 W.
For the first time ever, a robotic spacecraft caught an old satellite and extended its lifePUBLISHED FRI, APR 17 20209:18 AM EDTMichael Sheetz@THESHEETZTWEETZKEY POINTSA 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.
That's a very odd architecture. The MEPs already contain their own propulsion, power, and capture mechanism and are able to independently manoeuvre to match the target satellite orbit. Beyond needing to add the visual positioning system to the MEPs, the MRV seems to be entirely redundant. Even with the worlds most expensive dual-redundant time-of-flight imagers, it seems unlikely that adding that imaging system to all the MEPs would cost more than would be gained by eliminating the MRV entirely and adding one or more MEPs (and paying customers) to each launch, - and eliminating development of an additional spacecraft.
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/07/mission-extension-vehicles-validate-lifeline/https://twitter.com/TGMetsFan98/status/1286738291430174732
MEV could extend Hubble space telescope life. May even be able to bring it within range of ISS so it could be serviced by crew vehicle.
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 07/25/2020 01:13 amMEV could extend Hubble space telescope life. May even be able to bring it within range of ISS so it could be serviced by crew vehicle.The inclination difference would require a huge change in delta-V, which makes that impractical. Reality is nothing like the movie "Gravity".
Quote from: TGMetsFan98 on 07/24/2020 07:04 pmhttps://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2020/07/mission-extension-vehicles-validate-lifeline/https://twitter.com/TGMetsFan98/status/1286738291430174732MEV could extend Hubble space telescope life. May even be able to bring it within range of ISS so it could be serviced by crew vehicle.
I didn't really look into Hubble orbit inclination when suggesting idea.They are planning for MEV to be refuelled, wth MEP being used to resupply MEVs.
A single burn delta-V from 28.5 to 51.6 degrees is 2*7.7*sin((51.6-28.5)/2) = 3.1 km/s, the same as that required for trans Lunar injection!
Quote from: TrevorMonty on 07/25/2020 07:49 pmI didn't really look into Hubble orbit inclination when suggesting idea.They are planning for MEV to be refuelled, wth MEP being used to resupply MEVs. Not quite, the plan is for a more capable ‘MRV’ (built in partnership with DARPA RSGS) to install inexpensive, mini ‘MEPs’ on client vehicles at a much lower price point than affected When tying up the entire attention of an MEV for the duration of a client life extension.
Would 'just' moving Hubble to the ISS' vicinity in order to repair and refurbish be sufficient for it to continue providing useful science, or would you then need to move it back to its prior orbit again? That would double mission costs for sending a second MEV (or at the very least, add several additional tons of Xenon to the super-MEV).
Quote from: edzieba on 07/27/2020 05:56 pmWould 'just' moving Hubble to the ISS' vicinity in order to repair and refurbish be sufficient for it to continue providing useful science, or would you then need to move it back to its prior orbit again? That would double mission costs for sending a second MEV (or at the very least, add several additional tons of Xenon to the super-MEV).My understanding is that Hubble isn't in its current inclination because it's specifically desirable for science, but rather because it's the "cheapest" inclination to launch to from Canaveral. The Shuttle had so much dry mass that it was extremely limited in the orbits it could reach; back when Hubble was launched, it simply couldn't reach the ISS's 51.6o orbit. Several of the orbiters had to undergo extensive lightening, and the external tank had to be redesigned to use light-weight alloys, in order for them to reach that inclination for Shuttle-Mir (and subsequently ISS). IIRC, Challenger, the heaviest of the orbiters (having begun its life as a structural test article, as indicated by its low serial number, OV-099) wouldn't have been able to reach ISS/Mir if it had survived that long.Today's vehicles being much more flexible in the orbits they can reach, these issues no longer dominate the equation, and I suspect if Hubble were launched today it would be put in a different orbit, probably 51.6o for easy servicing from ISS. The penalty for that orbit vs. 28.5o isn't that bad - it was just that the Shuttle was always riding the edge of its mass-to-orbit capacity and every m/s of delta-v counted dearly. At the time, the ISS didn't exist yet, so 28.5o was "the place to be" for optimal serviceability, as the Shuttle was the only game in town for that. That's no longer the case now that the Shuttle is retired and the ISS is now the focal point of LEO human spaceflight activity.It's worth noting that when Hubble was under development, Space Station Freedom, before it became the ISS, was envisioned to be at 28.5o, since there was no need to reach it from Baikonur. Bringing Hubble to 51.6o would restore it to its originally envisioned accessibility.Beyond that, I'm not really sure what would make a particular orbit more or less "desirable" for Hubble, but I'm pretty sure that changing its inclination to 51.6o, without changing any other orbital parameters, wouldn't change that.The modern trend seems to be to send big space telescopes out to Earth-Sun L2 (e.g. JWST, Spektr-RG) so that they remain in a fixed position relative to the Sun and Earth, which apparently (my personal knowledge on this is fairly limited - this is per Wikipedia) can make "shielding and calibration...much simpler" because "an object around L2 will maintain the same relative position with respect to the Sun and Earth". But L2 is much more expensive to reach than LEO (JWST weighs ~6500 kg vs. Hubble's ~11000, and it's launching on a rocket better suited to high orbits than Shuttle, which had to rely on solid upper stages for that), so it wouldn't have been practical for something as big and heavy as Hubble (not to mention that it would have precluded Shuttle servicing flights). I get the impression that Hubble's current orbit was chosen as a practical compromise rather than for primarily scientific reasons.
Columbia was the heaviest of the orbital Orbiter Vehicles, all weights without SSMEOV-099 Challenger 155,400 poundsOV-101 Enterprise 143,600 pounds (weight as used for Approach and Landing Tests)OV-102 Columbia 158,289 poundsOV-103 Discovery 151,419 poundsOV-104 Atlantis 151,315 poundsOV-105 Endeavour 151,205 poundsReaching ISS was never an issue, reaching ISS with an appreciable payload was. SLWT, 5 segment boosters and 106% RPL on the SSME were looked at to claw back the losses to 51.6º. SLWT alone accounted for over 1/2 of the payload clawback. It was a big deal the day that NASA was informed that they would be working with Russia and that Freedom at 28.5º became ISS at 51.6º.28.5º allowed for the highest orbital altitude with an apogee of approx 600 km. The HST service missions were the "highest" STS missions. Increasing inclination or orbital altitude BOTH reduce the max payload of the orbiter, or any launch vehicle. 28.5 vs 51.6º certainly is a major difference, no matter the launch/space vehicle.Modern spacecraft have nowhere near the payload capacity that STS did. 28.5º to 51.6º most certainly IS a major payload hit. Some modern launchers do and the fact that they have various launch facilities that allow pretty much any desired orbit.OV-102 Columbia, the heaviest orbiter, was destined for ISS missions following her next OMDP(Orbiter Maintenance Down Period) which would have removed her internal airlock for STS-118 usage.
Docked!https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/12/northrop-grumman-mev-2-spacecraft-services-intelsat-1002-.html
MEV-2 finally docked with IS10-02 in geostationary orbit at 1734 UTC Apr 12. (The @northropgrumman press release as 1.34pm EST, but they actually mean 1.34 pm EDT: https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-and-intelsat-make-history-with-docking-of-second-mission-extension-vehicle-to-extend-life-of-satellite… )
(What is it with Americans not knowing how to write the time zone they are in? This is the 5th such mistake I've seen this month. Do they not teach you this in school? Daylight savings zones are PDT MDT CDT EDT, vs standard time zones PST MST CST EST)
(... and it *matters* particularly for the historical record - e.g. parts of the Mountain zone region - Arizona - are still on MST while other parts are on MDT. May not be obvious to someone years from now whether the writer was in such a locality. ...)
This rant brought to you by years of trying to convert missile and rocket launch times quoted in old newspaper articles and government documents and trying to convert them to UTC...
OK, so it was a genuine question because I grew up in the UK - apparently it sounds like you do in fact learn these things at some point, it's just that people here don't care enough to get it right even in a formal document.
Why are we posting a rant about time zones?
WASHINGTON — SpaceLogistics, a satellite-servicing firm owned by Northrop Grumman, announced Feb. 21 it plans to send to orbit a new servicing vehicle in 2024 on a SpaceX rocket.This will be the debut of the company’s Mission Robotic Vehicle, a servicing spacecraft equipped with a robotic arm that will install propulsion jet packs on dying satellites. The first customer for the MRV is Optus, Australia’s largest satellite operator.SpaceLogistics vice president Joseph Anderson told SpaceNews that the MRV was built with many of the same technologies used in the company’s Mission Extension Vehicles. Two MEVs are in orbit currently providing station-keeping services for two Intelsat geostationary satellites that were running low on fuel.The MRV’s robotic arm was developed by the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. DARPA in 2020 signed an agreement with Northrop Grumman allowing the company to use the robotic payload on the MRV in exchange for access to technology demonstrations and program data. The MRV and three propulsion jet packs — known as Mission Extension Pods — are now being assembled at Northrop Grumman’s facility in Dulles, Virginia. Anderson said all three pods will launch in 2024 with the MRV — one will be installed on an Optus satellite and the other two are for other customers that have not yet been announced. The MEPs are propulsion devices designed to extend the service life of a 2,000 kilogram satellite by six years. The mission in 2024 will launch the MRV — a 3,000 kilogram spacecraft — and three MEPs, each about 400 kilograms. The MRV and MEPs will be released from the launch vehicle, independently deploy and raise themselves to a geostationary orbit using solar electric propulsion.Once in orbit each MEP is captured by the MRV and stowed for transport to the client satellite. The MRV rendezvous and docks with the client to install the MEP, which operates like an auxiliary propulsion device and uses its own thrusters to maneuver the client vehicle. Then the MRV detaches itself and moves on to grab another MEP for the next customer. The MRV is designed to stay in orbit for 10 years. Anderson said the company expects to install as many as 30 propulsion pods over the life of the MRV. “Our manifest for the MRV is full through mid 2026,” he said. Besides Optus, five other customers have signed term sheets to purchase mission extension pods. The company is not disclosing the price of its MRV services. It’s a different service than the MEV, Anderson explained. The MEP is sold as a product. “Part of that purchase price includes the installation in orbit, and we use our mission robotic vehicle to do that installation.” SpaceLogistics owns the robotic vehicle but the mission extension pod is owned and operated by the client.The MRV uses the same sensor technologies, the same rendezvous and proximity operations concepts developed for the MEV, said Anderson. “We removed the docking mechanism and replaced it with the robotic payload from DARPA,” he added. “And the way we attach the MEP to the client vehicle with a docking mechanism, that also has direct heritage and from the mission extension vehicle.”The MEV and MRV will service satellites in geosynchronous orbit. SpaceLogistics has no plans currently to provide services in low Earth orbit, although it might consider opportunities in debris removal. “Certainly there’s a significant debris issue in low Earth orbit that one day will need to be addressed,” said Anderson. “Everything we’re doing today for satellite servicing in GEO can be directly applied to debris mitigation in low Earth orbit or to other services there, if and when customers decide to pay for those types of services.”
Intelsat proposes to raise Galaxy 25 from its station-keeping box in geostationary orbit to 300- 330 km above the geostationary arc and drift for two years before docking with the MEV.Galaxy 25 will drift approximately 4 degrees per day and be placed into sun acquisition mode. During this time, Intelsat will continue radiofrequency interference mitigation, close approach monitoring, and TT&C operations. Intelsat will also coordinate with other satellite operators throughout the drift. The estimated end of Galaxy 25’s maneuverable life for this drift as proposed is 2025.After approximately two years of drifting, Galaxy 25 will dock with the MEV, and the MEV will perform a series of tests while docked. Intelsat will continue to coordinate operations with other satellite operators throughout the docking phase.Following this proof of concept, Galaxy 25 will be fully decommissioned consistent with the Orbital Debris Mitigation Plan submitted by Intelsat and previously approved by the Commission in connection with Galaxy 25’s commercial authorization.Intelsat agrees toaccept the same orbital debris obligations that currently apply to the Galaxy 25 spacecraft as a condition of the requested experimental license. To the extent there is any delay with the proposed docking with the MEV, Intelsat will decommission the satellite prior to docking as needed to comply with the previously approved Orbital Debris Mitigation Plan.
Robert Hauge of SpaceLogistics says on a #satshow panel this morning the company has taken deposits on the 2nd and 3rd Mission Extension Pods (1st sold to Optus) and is in negotiations on the 4th.
Northrop Grumman’s latest version of this tech represents a more flexible approach: A larger model, called MRV (or mission robotic vehicle), will carry three MEPs (or mission extension pods), that it plans to deliver and connect with three satellites in 2026....Intelsat ordered one of the MEPs, as did Australian satellite operator Optus. A third is expected to be sold soon.
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/13/investing-in-space-intelsat-signs-up-for-northrop-grumman-satellite-servicing.htmlQuoteNorthrop Grumman’s latest version of this tech represents a more flexible approach: A larger model, called MRV (or mission robotic vehicle), will carry three MEPs (or mission extension pods), that it plans to deliver and connect with three satellites in 2026....Intelsat ordered one of the MEPs, as did Australian satellite operator Optus. A third is expected to be sold soon.Looks like it may have slipped a bit
Intelsat has ordered one of three fuel pods Northrop Grumman’s in-orbit servicing subsidiary is launching in late 2024 to extend the life of one of its geostationary satellites by at least six years, the operator announced April 13.The company is still deciding which of the more than 50 satellites in its fleet will be equipped with a Mission Extension Pod (MEP) from SpaceLogistics, which plans to install it in 2026 using a Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) servicer with a robotic arm.<snip>One of the three pods is intended for Australian satellite operator Optus, announced last year as SpaceLogistics’ first customer for the Mission Extension Pod service. If all goes to plan, the Mission Robotic Vehicle will install a pod on Optus D3 satellite in 2025.SpaceLogistics has not announced a customer for the third fuel pod, but the company’s president, Rob Hauge, said it is as good as sold. “We are finalizing negotiations for a third MEP, “which will complete the first launch manifest,” Hauge said.