MEV
Northrop Grumman to launch new satellite-servicing robot aimed at commercial and government market
Northrop Grumman in 2024 plans to launch a new servicing vehicle equipped with a robotic arm that will install propulsion jet packs on dying satellites.
Satellite servicing industry seeks interface standards
As another satellite life extension spacecraft is readied for launch, both developers and customers of such systems called for the creation of standard interfaces to support servicing of future spacecraft.
Northrop Grumman “bullish but cautious” about satellite servicing
With the success of its first life extension vehicle and a new DARPA award, Northrop Grumman is cautiously optimistic that demand for satellite servicing will grow.
Airbus impressed by Northrop Grumman, but remains undecided on satellite servicing
Airbus Defence and Space wanted to launch a satellite servicer shortly after Northrop Grumman launched MEV-1, but backed away from those plans two years ago because of uncertainty about the commercial market.
Northrop Grumman’s satellite servicer MEV-1, Eutelsat satellite, launch on ILS Proton
An International Launch Services Proton rocket carried Northrop Grumman’s first satellite-servicing spacecraft and a communications satellite for Eutelsat to orbit Oct. 9.
Industry weighs government’s role in satellite servicing
With the first commercial satellite servicing spacecraft about to launch, industry executives argue that government agencies, primarily seen as developers of key servicing technologies, also need to be customers of those systems.
Why Intelsat’s going with life extension over refueling
Intelsat-901, a 17-year-old communications satellite running low on propellant, is awaiting a first-of-its-kind service call from a robotic spacecraft carrying a fresh tank of fuel.
Orbital ATK’s giant leap into satellite servicing begins with baby steps
Orbital ATK subsidiary SpaceLogistics plans to offer customers a wide range of products and services, beginning with its Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) and progressing to in-orbit spacecraft assembly, repair and cis-lunar transportation.
FCC begins approval of Orbital ATK satellite-servicing mission for Intelsat-901
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission on Dec. 5 okayed the first part of a satellite-servicing mission Orbital ATK’s Space Logistic subsidiary has with Intelsat, saying the servicing vehicle can execute “rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking with the Intelsat-901” satellite while in a graveyard orbit.
Q&A | Intelsat’s Stephen Spengler on HTS, life post-OneWeb merger attempt, and in-orbit servicing
WASHINGTON and MOSCOW — Five years ago this month, Intelsat ordered the first of what is now six high-throughput Epic-class satellites. That soon-to-be global network is now mostly in orbit, with the fifth satelli…
