Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV)

A Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) is an on-orbit servicing spacecraft designed to dock with an existing satellite and assume responsibility for station-keeping and attitude control, thereby extending the operational life of the client satellite without requiring refuelling or major modification. After completion of each service period, an MEV is designed to undock and reposition to support a subsequent mission with a different client satellite.

In February 2020, Northrop Grumman subsidiary SpaceLogistics docked its Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) to the Intelsat 901 communications satellite and give it another five years of life. ¹ In April 2020, successful docking and redeployment was confirmed and MEV-1 assumed navigation of IS-901. Over six hours, 901’s inclination was reduced by 1.6°, relocating the satellite to its new orbital slot at 332.5°E. Intelsat then transitioned roughly 30 of its commercial and government customers to the satellite on 2 April. ²

In April 2021, Mission Extension Vehicle-2 docked with the Intelsat 10-02 to extend the operational life for five years, after which point it will undock and move to support a new mission. ³