A Robotic Spacecraft Caught an Old Satellite and Extended Its Life
April 17th, 2020Via: CNBC:
Intelsat’s IS-901 satellite is nearly 20 years old, and well beyond its expected lifespan, but a small spacecraft built by Northrop Grumman succeeded in docking with the satellite and giving it another five years of service, the companies announced on Friday.
The feat is a space industry first, as extending the life of spacecraft already in orbit has only been done with human help before – such as the Hubble telescope servicing missions conducted by NASA astronauts.
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IS-901 has now returned to service, with MEV-1 essentially fueling and steering the satellite. MEV-1 will provide five years of life extension services to the satellite before returning IS-901 to an orbit for decommissioning. Then MEV-1 will be available to provide extension services for other satellites in orbit.
