Docking System, Prototype, Mission Extension Vehicle-1, SpaceLogistics
This pegboard prototype was used to test the Mission Extionsion Vehicle-1's (MEV-1) ability to rendezvous and dock with client satellite Intelsat 901 (IS 901) in geostationary orbit. The MEV series of spacecraft were designed to rendezvous and dock with spacecraft running low on fuel, and use their own propulsion system to extend the life of the client satellite for up to fifteen years. Before detaching, the MEV can move the client satellite into a “graveyard” orbit.
The flight version of MEV-1 launched on October 9, 2019 onboard a Proton rocket operated by International Launch Services. On February 25, 2020, MEV-1 successfully docked with IS 901, which had only a few months of fuel remaining. Northrop Grumman was contracted to keep IS 901 in an operational orbit for five years before moving on to a new client.
Orbital ATK and its subsidiary Space Logistics, LLC assembled this prototype in 2017 to test in their Rendezvous, Proximity Operations and Docking (RPOD) Lab in Dulles, Virginia. The Northrop Grumman Corporation acquired Orbital ATK in 2018, and Space Logistics, LLC became a Northrop Grumman subsidiary. MEV-1 was developed in partnership with NASA through the agency’s Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities agreement, through which NASA provided technical assistance to the project.
Display Status
This object is on display in Futures In Space at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
