High above the Earth, a new generation of robots designed to keep satellites working longer is replacing its predecessor — quite literally. This week, a spacecraft built and operated by Northrop Grumman called a Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) unplugged from a communications satellite operated by the Australian firm Optus. For more than a year, the MEV spacecraft has been stuck to the back of the Optus satellite, keeping it in the right place in space so it can continue its mission.
Here’s an exclusive view from the MEV’s on-board camera, showing the Optus satellite and the Earth behind as the two spacecraft moved apart. The satellite life-extension spacecraft is leaving to make room for its replacement. In July, four new Northrop spacecraft launched into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.
One is called the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), a powerful satellite equipped with two advanced robotic arms that was developed by DARPA, the U.S. military research organization. The other three are called Mission Extension Pods, or MEPs, smaller, simpler satellites that are essentially modular propulsion systems. Those four spacecraft are currently headed for targets around 27,000 miles above the Earth.
In 2027, the MRV will use its robotic arms to attach one of the MEP pods to the Optus satellite, which should keep it in orbit for years to come. The satellites that provide communications or scan the planet with various sensors only last for so long. They typically fail when they run out of fuel to stay in the right place, not because their computers and transceivers stop working.
The Optus satellite was launched in 2009, and designed for a 15-year lifespan. If all goes well, the satellite could fly — and generate revenue — for another six years. Now, cheaper launch costs and lower-cost space components are making spacecraft repair missions a reality.
The goal is “a paradigm shift where we can see space as sustainable, with a more resilient architecture and infrastructure base where we can do things like spacecraft repairs, life extension, or even upgrades and maintenance of satellites,” according to Northrop’s director of logistics and servicing, Cassie Wong. There are two MEVs in orbit right now, launched in 2019 and 2020, which have provided 10 years of life extension to three customers, including two different Intelsat spacecraft and the Optus satellite. MEV-1 will wait in a parking orbit for another customer, while MEV-2 is currently attached to its Intelsat customer until 2030.
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