Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics has sold its third Mission Extension Pod (MEP) to Intelsat, a propulsion “jet pack” that extends the life of legacy satellites, allowing them to operate longer and more profitably. The MEP will be installed on an Intelsat communications satellite in geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) by SpaceLogistics’ Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), a servicing spacecraft equipped with robotic arms, to extend its life by at least six years. The MRV and MEP have completed their critical design reviews and are proceeding through build, integration and testing ahead of a planned launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 in early 2025. Once on orbit, the MRV will provide a persistent robotic servicing capability in GEO that paves the way for missions including satellite inspection, relocation and repair.
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