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On Saturday, a Northrop Grumman spacecraft, designed to give new life to a dying satellite, launched into space. Its goal is to grab hold of an aging satellite that’s been in space for 16 years and extend the life of the old orbiting robot by providing it with a new set of engines and fuel.
The spacecraft is called MEV-2, standing for Mission Extension Vehicle 2. MEV-2’s predecessor was the revolutionary MEV-1 satellite, launched in October 2019. MEV-1 made history in February when it s seized another satellite already in orbit. , marking the first time that two commercial satellites have docked in space. MEV-1’s target was a decommissioned communications satellite called the Intelsat 901, which has been in space for almost 20 years. After docking with Intelsat 901, the MEV-1 pushed the satellite into a new orbit, allowing the spacecraft to resume operation and extend its lifespan by at least five years.
MEV-1 has successfully demonstrated a concept known as satellite service – an emerging industry that focuses on sending practical satellites into space in order to repair, repair or upgrade other satellites already in operation. orbit. Now with MEV-2, Northrop Grumman will try again. “It’s very similar,” says Joe Anderson, vice president of operations and business development at Space Logistics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman that oversees MEV missions. The edge. “MEV-2 is essentially a carbon copy of MEV-1 from a design standpoint.”
However, MEV-2 will try a few new things while in space. On the one hand, it targets a different type of satellite than the one MEV-1 faced. The Intelsat 901 was no longer functioning and was located in an orbit above the Earth, often referred to as a “graveyard orbit”. Satellites that orbit thousands of miles above the planet are moved to graveyard orbit when they run out of fuel so that they don’t bother anyone when they become unusable. MEV-1 ripped the Intelsat 901 out of cemetery orbit and put it back into a coveted region known as the geosynchronous orbit – a path above the Earth where the satellites match the rotation of the planet and appear to be hovering over the same area of the sky at all times. The geosynchronous belt is a fairly critical orbit for satellites, which houses many communication and Earth observation probes.
MEV-2 aims to encounter another Intelsat communication vehicle called Intelsat 10-02, but this spacecraft is not in the graveyard. It still actively operates in geosynchronous orbit with many other critical – and expensive – satellites. In fact, Intelsat 10-02 will carry communications traffic while the MEV-2 attempts to dock next year. Anderson says they will notify Intelsat customers that they may experience a short Intelsat 10-02 outage when MEV-2 locks up. “When we do that it disrupts their scoring a bit, but it should be very transient in nature,” says Anderson. “It should be pretty short; it would certainly be less than 20 minutes. “
Docking the MEV-2 will use the same sensors and capture routine as MEV-1. However, MEV-2 will not have to move Intelsat 10-02 to a new location. “We’re just going to dock with them and then take over orbit and attitude control and keep them in the same hold box at the station they’re in today,” says Anderson. Essentially, MEV-2 will act as a new engine and fuel tank, helping to maintain the stability of Intelsat 10-02 for at least five years. Intelsat 10-02 is now out of fuel, so MEV-2 will ensure the satellite can continue to operate for a bit longer before it needs to be moved to the graveyard.
MEV-2 may stay attached longer if Intelsat wishes to sign another contract. However, the two MEVs are designed to serve multiple satellites over the next 15 years, according to Anderson. Thus, other satellites could benefit from MEV-1 or MEV-2 in the future. Anderson has not disclosed how much it costs to build an MEV vehicle, but Intelsat has previously said the company will pay Northrop Grumman $ 13 million per year to have MEV-1 attached to Intelsat 901 for five years.
Anderson says these satellite maintenance missions are a “business growth area” for Space Logistics and Northrop Grumman. Going forward, the company is focusing on a new type of service called Mission Robotic Vehicle, or MRV, which is expected to take satellite development to a whole new level. Thanks to a partnership with DARPA, MRV will be able to do what MEV satellites can do, but it will also be able to attach “pods” to satellites which provide only the propulsion, extending the life of a satellite up to six. years. Anderson notes that the MRV will truly be a multiservice satellite, capable of doing various types of repairs in addition to providing additional propulsion. “This robotic vehicle can perform other types of services such as detailed inspections, full repair missions,” he says. “So if someone has a blocked solar panel or antenna, for example, maybe we can use our robotic system to do these deployments. It can also grab onto customer vehicles, tow them and move them to other orbits as well. “
The first MRV is not expected to launch until 2023, so for now, the docking of MEV-2 is the next big event for space logistics. Docking is scheduled for February or March 2021, when we’ll see if MEV-2 can replicate the historic docking of its predecessor, potentially advancing the satellite maintenance industry.
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