Northrop satellite refueling launched on October 9th

Northrop Grumman and NASA launch the first of its kind for satellite refueling. Launch MEV-1

will take place on October 9th on a Russian rocketproduction. It will dock with Intersat for three months and will extend its life for more than five years. After that, he will be able to refuel some other satellite, since he will have enough fuel for another 10 years.

The second device, MEV-2, will help another satelliteIntelsat in 2020 and will have the same payload volume. Both devices are quite flexible in terms of work. They can dock with 80% of satellites in geostationary orbit, even if initially such a function was not laid in them.

What are the future plans?

If the program shoots, then NASA will use the services of the project for a long time. The agency, in turn, is working on its own technologies in the field of servicing orbital vehicles.

Refueling satellites directly in orbit is the key to progress. It will significantly reduce the need for their replacement, and will also make possible missions for which the current satellite life is not enough.