Northrop Grumman Corporation and the company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, SpaceLogistics LLC, have completed the first docking of the Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) to the Intelsat 901 (IS-901) spacecraft to provide life-extension services. This historic accomplishment marks the first time two commercial satellites have docked in orbit and the first time that mission extension services will be offered to a satellite in geosynchronous orbit.

Intelsat’s IS-901 satellite is nearly 20 years old, and well beyond its expected lifespan. Still, a small spacecraft built by Northrop Grumman succeeded in docking with the satellite and giving it another five years of service, the companies announced on Friday.

MEV-1, launched Oct. 9, 2019, recently completed its orbit raising to an orbit approximately 180 miles above the geosynchronous orbit. IS-901 is a fully operational communication satellite that is running low on fuel. Intelsat removed 901 from service in December 2019, transferring customers to other satellites in its fleet, to raise its orbit to the same altitude as MEV-1 in preparation for docking. MEV-1 then completed the historic docking with IS-901 on February 25 at 2:15 a.m. ET. The combined spacecraft stack will now perform on-orbit checkouts before MEV-1 begins relocating the combined vehicle to return IS-901 into service in late March. In the process, MEV-1 took one-of-a-kind images of IS-901, as a geosynchronous satellite had never been seen from the view of another spacecraft before.

Intelsat’s satellite was launched in June 2001 and was only intended to serve for 13 years, providing communications services in the Atlantic Ocean region. The satellite is in a fixed position above the Earth in what is known as geosynchronous orbit – tens of thousands of miles up to provide as wide a coverage area as effectively possible.

IS-901 has now returned to service, with MEV-1 primarily fuelling and steering the satellite. MEV-1 will provide five years of life extension services to the satellite before returning IS-901 to an orbit for decommissioning. Then MEV-1 will be available to provide extension services for other satellites in orbit.

Intelsat has a contract with Northrop Grumman for a second mission extension spacecraft, MEV-2, which the company plans to use to service Intelsat’s 1002 satellite later this year.