April 18, 2021
Northrop Grumman said last week that its Mission Extension Vehicle 2 – a robot spacecraft designed to help prolong the life of satellites in space – successfully docked to a commercial communications satellite. “We are now the only provider of life extension services for satellites,” a company spokesperson said.
This view from Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle 2 spacecraft shows the Intelsat 10-02 satellite shortly before docking. Image via Northrop Grumman.
Last week, the American aerospace company Northrop Grumman and its subsidiary SpaceLogistics announced a successful test of a newly developed robotic satellite-servicing spacecraft, called Mission Extension Vehicle 2 (MEV-2). The robot craft successfully docked with a commercial communications satellite, Intelsat 10-02, on April 12, 2021. The MEV is designed to attach itself to aging satellites and to help prolong their operations in space. Newly released images (above and below) are from the perspective of the MEV’s wide-field infrared camera on approach to the satellite shortly before docking. Joe Anderson, the director of mission extension services at Northrop Grumman, said in a webinar following the docking: