At the end of the current servicing period, MEV-1 will relocate and release the Intelsat 901 satellite into the GEO graveyard and provide service for another Intelsat satellite.
Both Northrop Grumman MEVs deployed for Intelsat have been successful at their mission and have allowed IS-10-02 and Intelsat 901 (IS-901) to provide five years of service beyond their expected lifespans.
Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) technology enabled Intelsat 10-02 and Intelsat 901 to provide five years of service beyond each satellite’s expected lifespan.
MEV-1 successfully docked with Intelsat 901 (IS-901) in 2020 to provide mission-extension services for a satellite that was running low on fuel.
At the end of the current servicing period, MEV-1 will release Intelsat 901 into the GEO graveyard and then provide service for another Intelsat satellite.
MEV-1 will use its onboard propulsion to relocate and release Intelsat-901 back into GEO graveyard orbit after the original five-year servicing period ends in 2025.
Intelsat extended its contract for MEV-1, which in 2020 docked with Intelsat-901 in a GEO graveyard orbit a few hundred kilometers above active satellites and lowered the spacecraft back into service.
Intelsat-901 was launched in 2001 and provides broadcast and broadband services over North and South America, Africa, and Europe.
MEV-1 docked with Intelsat 901 in 2020 and MEV-2 docked with Intelsat 10-02 in 2021.
Intelsat’s in-orbit servicing program began in 2020 when SpaceLogistics’ Mission Extension Vehicle MEV-1 performed the first-ever in-orbit commercial spacecraft docking with Intelsat 901.
Intelsat’s purchase of the MEP continues a space sustainability practice that began in 2020 when SpaceLogistics’ Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-1) performed the first-ever on-orbit commercial spacecraft docking with Intelsat 901 (IS-901).
The first MEV docking with Intelsat-901 occurred in a graveyard orbit about 300 km above geostationary orbit.
MEV-1 performed several close-proximity operations and approaches before successfully attaching to Intelsat-901, enabling the 19-year-old satellite to resume services from 2021-04-02.
Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle 1 (MEV-1) successfully docked with the Intelsat 901 satellite and moved the satellite to a new location in geostationary orbit to allow it to continue operations.
The transfer of 30 customers to Intelsat-901 took six hours to complete.
Intelsat-901 provides coverage of North and South America, Africa, and Europe using C-band transponders and steerable Ku-band beams.
MEV-1 docked with Intelsat-901 on 2020-02-25 and subsequently lowered both spacecraft back into the geosynchronous arc.
Intelsat transferred 30 commercial and government communications customers to the Intelsat-901 satellite, which now uses MEV-1 for propulsion.
Intelsat transitioned customers off Intelsat-901 in November and began moving the satellite out of the geosynchronous arc on 2019-12-02 to meet with MEV-1 in a graveyard orbit a few hundred kilometers above active satellites.
Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle 1 launched in October and docked with the Intelsat-901 communications satellite in February, enabling a five-year extended lease on life for Intelsat-901.