NASA s Ingenuity Mars helicopter has been awarded Laureate for its "extraordinary achievements in aerospace" by the Aviation Week Network. The prestigious honour recognises the pioneering rotorcraft for its history-making flights on the Red Planet, NASA said in a statement on Tuesday. NASA s Ingenuity Awarded Laureate for History-Making Flights on Mars, by Aviation Week Network.
Aviation Week Editors Announce 2021 Laureate Award Winners aviationweek.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from aviationweek.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Mission Extension Vehicles succeed as Northrop Grumman works on future servicing/debris clean-up craft
May 7, 2021
With the successful docking of Mission Extension Vehicle 2, or MEV-2, to the Intelsat 10-02 satellite last month, Northrop Grumman not only repeated the task of successfully attaching one of their MEV spacecraft to a functioning satellite but also successfully proved the ability to grab a still-transmitting telecommunications satellite without disrupting service.
The success of both MEV-1 and -2 has led to an increasing interest in the use of those crafts after their current five-year missions with their present satellites are complete. Meanwhile, Northrop Grumman has already begun work on the next generations of remote, on-orbit servicing and debris clean-up vehicles.
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 th