Robert Hauge - Satellite Servicing on Orbit: The Ex Terra Podcast

Geostationary orbit is not a “set it and forget it” proposition. Satellites can move, making satellite servicing on orbit essential for the customers who depend on those spacecraft being where they are supposed to be.

On this edition of The Ex Terra Podcast, Tom Patton talks with Robert Hauge, president of Space Logistics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. Space Logistics provides cooperative space logistics and on-orbit satellite servicing to geosynchronous satellite operators using its fleet of commercial servicing vehicles.

As Hauge explains, this is not an orbital “gas station” for refueling satellites. The Mission Extension Vehicle docks with an existing satellite and provides propulsion and attitude control to extend the life of that satellite.

Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1) completed its first docking to a client satellite, Intelsat IS-901 on February 25, 2020. MEV is designed to dock to geostationary satellites whose fuel is nearly depleted. Once connected to its client satellite, MEV uses its own thrusters and fuel supply to extend the satellite’s lifetime. When the customer no longer desires MEV’s service, the spacecraft will undock and move on to the next client satellite. The second Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV-2) launched August 15, 2020 with the Northrop Grumman-built Galaxy 30 satellite. MEV-2 docked with the Intelsat IS-1002 satellite on April 12, 2021.

The company’s satellite servicing on orbit will expand with the launch of the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), planned for 2024, and Mission Extension Pods, which will be installed by the MRV.

How does what happens in space affect your everyday life? The Ex Terra podcast is dedicated to introducing you to many of the interesting people involved in the commercial space industry, and taking you behind the scenes with many of the companies making significant contributions to the new space economy. The podcast is available on Anchor, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Overcast, Pocketcasts and Radio Public.

Website: https://www.northropgrumman.com/space/space-logistics-services/