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.
