Intelsat to Extend Life of Satellites with Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicles

Intelsat to Extend Life of Satellites with Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicles

Intelsat, operator of one of the world’s largest integrated satellite and terrestrial networks and leading provider of inflight connectivity (IFC), will deliver years of additional reliable broadband, video distribution and mobile satellite service to customers across three continents thanks to the success of Northrop Grumman’s innovative Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) that will ultimately provide an expected additional nine years of life to the Intelsat 10-02 (IS-10-02) geosynchronous satellite.

Geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) satellites have an average lifespan of about 15-20 years before they start running low on fuel. Intelsat in 2020 became the first satellite operator to commit to deploying two of Northrop Grumman’s MEVs to extend the life of an otherwise healthy satellite. Both MEVs have been successful at their mission and have allowed IS-10-02 and Intelsat 901 (IS-901) to provide five years of service beyond the expected lifespan of the satellite. Under amendments to the original agreements with Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics, both MEVs will stay in space serving Intelsat satellites for several more years, allowing them to operate longer.

  • At the end of the current servicing period, MEV-1 will release the IS-901 satellite into the GEO graveyard and then provide service for another Intelsat satellite.
  • MEV-2 will remain docked to Intelsat’s current vehicle, IS-10-02, providing life-extension for several years – nearly doubling service from the original contract. The IS-10-02 satellite was manufactured by Airbus Defense & Space, was launched in June 2004 and entered service in August 2004. Capacity on the satellite is shared with Telenor Satellite. Today, MEV-2 is helping to extend the life of IS-10-02, so the satellite can continue providing high-quality media distribution and broadband services to our customers across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and South America. IS-10-02 is a key satellite in the Intelsat-Telenor Satellite video neighborhood, distributing more than 900 channels to nearly 18 million television households across Europe.

“As the largest satellite operator in geosynchronous orbit, Intelsat has always been committed to continuous reliable service, as well as leadership in furthering sustainable space operations,” Jean-Luc Froeliger, SVP Space Systems at Intelsat. “Intelsat continues to pursue first-of-their-kind innovations to extend the life of its satellites in orbit, while also bringing the industry together to foster information sharing and collaboration across a challenging regulatory environment to achieve sustainable stewardship of the resource of space.”

“This extension is excellent news for our many clients across Europe and the Middle East who are served by THOR 10-02,” Morten Tengs, CEO of Telenor Satellite. “We pride ourselves on the resilience of our service and, by extending the life of the satellite, we can ensure continuity and hassle-free operations for a number of years.” 

MEV Background

In 2020, MEV-1 successfully docked with the IS-901 satellite, a high-performing satellite that was running low on fuel. That marked the first time that two commercial spacecraft docked and began mission-extension service in GEO. The in-space maneuver pointed IS-901 to targeted antennas on Earth and extended its life for another five years of its lifespan. 

In 2021, the feat was repeated with a second MEV-2 docking with the IS-10-02 satellite. Unlike the first docking, which was performed in a graveyard orbit a few hundred kilometers above active satellites, this time the MEV-2 docked with IS-10-02 in its original orbital slot and avoided any interruption of services to customers, resulting in the first-ever in-orbit servicing of a live commercial satellite in GEO.

Click here to learn about Northrop Grumman’s Mission Extension Vehicle.

Publisher: SatNow
Tags:-  SatelliteLaunchGround

Intelsat

  • Country: United States
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beidou

Satellite NameOrbit Date
BeiDou-3 G4Geostationary Orbit (GEO)17 May, 2023
BeiDou-3 G2Geostationary Orbit (GEO)09 Mar, 2020
Compass-IGSO7Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)09 Feb, 2020
BeiDou-3 M19Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M20Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)16 Dec, 2019
BeiDou-3 M21Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M22Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)23 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 I3Inclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Nov, 2019
BeiDou-3 M23Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019
BeiDou-3 M24Medium Earth Orbit (MEO)22 Sep, 2019

galileo

Satellite NameOrbit Date
GSAT0223MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0224MEO - Near-Circular05 Dec, 2021
GSAT0219MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0220MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0221MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0222MEO - Near-Circular25 Jul, 2018
GSAT0215MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0216MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0217MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017
GSAT0218MEO - Near-Circular12 Dec, 2017

glonass

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Kosmos 2569--07 Aug, 2023
Kosmos 2564--28 Nov, 2022
Kosmos 2559--10 Oct, 2022
Kosmos 2557--07 Jul, 2022
Kosmos 2547--25 Oct, 2020
Kosmos 2545--16 Mar, 2020
Kosmos 2544--11 Dec, 2019
Kosmos 2534--27 May, 2019
Kosmos 2529--03 Nov, 2018
Kosmos 2527--16 Jun, 2018

gps

Satellite NameOrbit Date
Navstar 82Medium Earth Orbit19 Jan, 2023
Navstar 81Medium Earth Orbit17 Jun, 2021
Navstar 78Medium Earth Orbit22 Aug, 2019
Navstar 77Medium Earth Orbit23 Dec, 2018
Navstar 76Medium Earth Orbit05 Feb, 2016
Navstar 75Medium Earth Orbit31 Oct, 2015
Navstar 74Medium Earth Orbit15 Jul, 2015
Navstar 73Medium Earth Orbit25 Mar, 2015
Navstar 72Medium Earth Orbit29 Oct, 2014
Navstar 71Medium Earth Orbit02 Aug, 2014

irnss

Satellite NameOrbit Date
NVS-01Geostationary Orbit (GEO)29 May, 2023
IRNSS-1IInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)12 Apr, 2018
IRNSS-1HSub Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (Sub-GTO)31 Aug, 2017
IRNSS-1GGeostationary Orbit (GEO)28 Apr, 2016
IRNSS-1FGeostationary Orbit (GEO)10 Mar, 2016
IRNSS-1EGeosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)20 Jan, 2016
IRNSS-1DInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)28 Mar, 2015
IRNSS-1CGeostationary Orbit (GEO)16 Oct, 2014
IRNSS-1BInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)04 Apr, 2014
IRNSS-1AInclined Geosynchronous Orbit (IGSO)01 Jul, 2013