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Northrop Grumman makes history, Mission Extension Vehicle docks to target satellite
Four and a half months after its launch on a Proton-M rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle[(MEV)] has made history, successfully docking with its target satellite above Geostationary Orbit to extend that satellite's lifetime well beyond the original plan.
The successful maneuver marked a groundbreaking change in how satellites are operated in orbit, with the Mission Extension Vehicle capable of not just extending a satellite's life but also moving defunct satellites to safer orbits.
[...] Two months after the MEV's launch, though, Intelsat began the process of decommissioning satellite Intelsat 901, formally removing it from service in December 2019 and transferring telecommunication customers to other satellites in its fleet. [...] After this decommissioning, Intelsat 901 was commanded to fire its thrusters to move itself into the GEO graveyard orbit. This satellite was chosen for the first MEV mission because it only had a "few months" of propellant life left according to Intelsat.
[...] The combined spacecraft stack will now perform on-orbit checkouts before MEV-1 begins relocating the combined vehicle to return Intelsat 901 into service in late-March/early-April.
(Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 29 2020, @04:47AM (1 child)
The very idea that we cannot service machines that are in orbit is ridiculous. if America could send the Shuttle out to service the Hubble Space Telescope, it is obvious that robotic missions can be sent to do similar. What are they going to do with the Webb Space Telescope, allegedly too far away, at a La Grange point, to be serviced by a human personned mission?
Besides, at some point, after Elon Musk gets done polluting the skies with his StarLink, we we have to have a fleet Wall-Es, not on earth, but all around earth collecting all the garbage. Intell satelittes? Bet that is not the chip maker, although they are deep tight roger with the Intellegence agencies of the Lizzard People.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Saturday February 29 2020, @12:41PM
You are spreading fake news. The satellites are planned to deorbit within 7 years or so to mitigate any orbital debris problems. Even if they completely fail, they will deorbit naturally since they are in low Earth orbit.
https://spacenews.com/us-regulators-approve-spacex-constellation-but-deny-waiver-for-easier-deployment-deadline/ [spacenews.com]
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]