SpaceTech 2023 - Banner

Northrop Grumman extends Intelsat 10-02’s life in orbit

MEV-2 docking to Intelsat 10-02. Photo: Northrop Grumman

Paris, 14 April 2021. – Northrop Grumman and Intelsat succeeded with an in-orbit docking of a life extension module to one of Intelsat’s commercial satellites, the companies said.

Northrop Grumman’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SpaceLogistics, successfully completed the docking of the Mission Extension Vehicle-2 to the Intelsat 10-02 commercial communications satellite to deliver life-extension services, Northrop Grumman said.

It is the second time the company has docked a commercial spacecraft in orbit.

Northrop Grumman claims to be “the only provider of flight-proven life extension services for satellites”. Its MEV-1 made history when it successfully docked to the Intelsat 901 satellite in February 2020.

Unlike MEV-1, which docked above the GEO orbit before moving IS-901 back into service, MEV-2 docked with IS-10-02 directly in its operational GEO orbital location, Northrop Grumman said.

Check Also

EU SST

EU SST Wins T.S. Kelso Award for Flight Safety Contributions

Space Data Association has announced The European Union Space Surveillance and Tracking Partnership (EU SST) as the recipient of the T.S. Kelso Award in recognition of outstanding contributions to space flight safety. The EU SST Partnership relies on the SSA capabilities of 15 Member states of the European Union to provide space safety services, with the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) acting as the Front Desk.