Mission Extension Vehicle 1 (MEV-1) safely departs from Intelsat 901 (IS-901) in the Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) after providing five years of life extension service. The earth is visible in the background as well as MEV-1’s docking mechanism on the right. (Courtesy: Northrop Grumman’s Space Logistics)

Intelsat and Northrop Grumman completed their collaborative life-extension mission for Intelsat 901 (IS-901), adding five years of service life to the satellite providing connectivity in GEO. This makes Intelsat the first satellite operator to complete a life-extension mission.

Northrop Grumman’s Space Logistics LLC business was contracted by Intelsat to utilize its Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) to prolong the life of IS-901. The partnership was first revealed at the SATELLITE 2018 event in Washington D.C. The MEV first docked with IS-901 in February 2020, nearly 19 years after the satellite was first launched. After bringing IS-901 to a graveyard orbit, the MEV detached from the satellite, which will now be decommissioned after a significant service life of 24 years. Most GEO satellites are designed to have around 15 years of service.

Intelsat partnered with Northrop Grumman on a second mission in 2021, using MEV-2 to extend the life of Intelsat 10-02. That mission is ongoing.

“The MEV mission proved that in-orbit servicing enhances satellite sustainability and efficiency in space,” said Jean-Luc Froeliger, SVP of Space Systems, Intelsat. “We were able to provide five additional years of reliable service to our Network, Media and Mobility customers and paved the way for future advancements in satellite servicing.”