Northrop satellite refueling launched on October 9th

Northrop Grumman and NASA are launching the first of its kind to refuel satellites. Launch of MEV-1

will take place on October 9th on a Russian rocketproduction. It will dock with the Intersat satellite within three months and extend its operational life beyond five years. After that, he will be able to refuel another 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.