Northrop Grumman Mission Extension Vehicle

The Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) is a small-scale spacecraft that extends the functional lifetime of another spacecraft through on-orbit satellite servicing, docking to the target and using its own thrusters to supply attitude control for it. The concept was proposed in 2011 by ViviSat, a joint venture of US Space and Alliant Techsystems; Orbital ATK took control of the program and dissolved ViviSat in April 2016, and Orbital ATK was bought by Northrop Grumman in 2018, under which the program continues. MEV-1 was launched on 9 October 2019, rendezvoused with Intelsat 901 on 25 February 2020 and by April 2020 had repositioned that satellite so it could return to service, a first for a telerobotically operated spacecraft. After the five-year mission extension, MEV-1 was used to move the satellite back to a graveyard orbit and undock, and the vehicle is designed to dock and undock additional times to service further satellites.