SES and Infinite Orbits partner for life extension mission in GEO. Photo: SES

SES has signed an agreement with French company Infinite Orbits for a Geostationary Orbit (GEO) life extension mission with the Infinite Orbits Endurance docking vehicle. 

The Endurance spacecraft is expected to launch in late 2027. Its mission will be to perform an in-orbit demonstration and dock with an SES GEO satellite. Infinite Orbits said the mission is designed to extend the lifespan of “at least one” of SES’s GEO satellites by five years. 

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed and neither was the target GEO satellite. 

Infinite Orbits aim for this to be the first commercial satellite life extension mission by a Europen company. Infinite Orbits also has a satellite life extension agreement with Hispasat and is set to lead two GEO servicing missions for French space agency CNES. 

Intelsat, now part of SES, was the customer on the first-ever life extension mission in GEO with Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), which docked with IS-901 in 2020. That life extension mission wrapped up earlier this year after five years of service. 

SES also has a satellite servicing mission with U.S.-based startup Starfish Space, which Intelsat ordered last year. 

“We started Infinite Orbits with a focused goal to master a set of technologies allowing for competitive in-orbit services. To change the way we use space, in-orbit services must not only be safe, but they must also be compatible with our customers’ needs,” Infinite Orbits CEO Adel Haddoud said in a release. “We firmly believe that this is essential if we are to offer operators new opportunities to optimize their assets and promote a more sustainable approach to space.”