Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) at Geostationary Orbit (GEO)

Key facts

Client

Intelsat 901

Outcome

MEV-1 autonomously docked Intelsat 901 (2020-02-25) ~300 km above GEO - first commercial GEO docking - ferried it back to its slot for ~5 years; UNDOCKED 2025-04-09 (first commercial GEO undocking)

Sources (1)

1. https://spacenews.com/northrop-grummans-mev-1-servicer-docks-with-intelsat-satellite/ ↗

Related deployments

• Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) at Geostationary Orbit (GEO)

Common questions

What is the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) deployment at Geostationary Orbit (GEO)?

Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), built by Northrop Grumman SpaceLogistics, is recorded as a deployment at Geostationary Orbit (GEO) on the DEPLOY registry. Northrop Grumman SpaceLogistics operates the deployment directly.

Who operates Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) at Geostationary Orbit (GEO)?

Northrop Grumman SpaceLogistics, the manufacturer of Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV), operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.

When did the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) deployment at Geostationary Orbit (GEO) go live?

The deployment is recorded as starting February 25, 2020 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.

Is the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) deployment at Geostationary Orbit (GEO) still active?

As of the most recent verification on the DEPLOY registry, this deployment is no longer operating at this location.

Have there been incidents at the Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) deployment at Geostationary Orbit (GEO)?

No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.