Northrop Grumman provides life extension services to satellite operators in geosynchronous orbit. The Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) is the industy's first on-orbit satellite servicing vehicle.
Created: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2022-09-18
Company - SpaceLogistics (Northrop Grumman)
Service - Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV)
- Classification
- In-Space Transportation
- Category
- On-Orbit Servicing
- Fields
- In-Space Satellite Servicing
- Status
- 1) Active
- First launch
- 2019
In February 2020, Mission Extension Vehicle successfully docked with Intelsat 901, marking the first time two commercial satellites have docked and the first time that mission-extension services will be offered to a satellite in the GEO orbit.
SpaceLogistics in 2024 will launch the Mission Robotic Vehicle, a servicing spacecraft equipped with a robotic arm that will install propulsion jet packs on dying satellites. 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. 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.
Orbital Science Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman Space, has been awarded $187 million to design the habitation and logistics outpost (HALO) for the Gateway, which is part of NASA’s Artemis program and will help the agency build a sustainable presence at the Moon. This award funds HALO’s design through its preliminary design review, expected by the end of 2020.
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