Northrop Grumman MEV-2 spacecraft services Intelsat 1002

Two aerospace firms achieved an industry first on Monday, when a small Northrop Grumman spacecraft successfully docked with an active Intelsat satellite to provide service and extend its lifespan.

Intelsat’s IS-1002 satellite is nearly 18 years old and is functioning well beyond its expected lifespan, but the Northrop Grumman-built spacecraft called MEV-2 will add another five years of life to IS-1002, essentially rendering the satellite it is a new engine for control.

The companies have reached a milestone in the growing market for servicing satellites in space.

“The successful docking of our second Mission Extension Vehicle today further demonstrates the reliability, security and usability of in-space logistics,” said Tom Wilson, vice president of Nothrop Grumman’s strategic space systems in a statement. “The success of this mission paves the way for our second-generation maintenance satellites and robotics, providing flexibility and resilience for both commercial and government satellite operators, enabling entirely new classes of missions.”

Extending the life of an active spacecraft in orbit has previously only been done with human help – like the Hubble telescope on missions performed by NASA astronauts.

The robot MEV-2 was launched on an Arianespace Ariane 5 rocket in August and spent the last few months heading towards the satellite. MEV-2 then passed its orbit before successfully docking, while also providing unique images from the satellite as the spacecraft approached.

Launched in June 2004, IS-1002 was intended to be in service for 13 years, providing broadband communications services to Europe, South America, Africa and the Middle East. The satellite is in a fixed position above the Earth in what is called a geosynchronous orbit – tens of thousands of miles up to provide the widest possible coverage area.

The MEV-2 mission builds on the success of Northrop Grumman’s MEV-1 mission last year, which arrived at an inactive Intelsat satellite. That satellite was in a “graveyard orbit,” meaning it was no longer providing services, but MEV-1 recovered it and put the satellite back in place.

Although the spacecraft MEV-2 is similar to MEV-1, it took it one step further by building a satellite currently in use and extending its lifespan.

Northern Sky Research, a satellite consulting firm, estimates that the satellite maintenance and life extension market has a $ 3.2 billion opportunity over the next ten years.

The company predicts there will be a demand for more than 75 satellites by 2030, with companies and governments looking to extend the life of typically expensive geosynchronous equatorial satellites rather than launch replacements.