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Space
Space
Science
Andrew Jones

2 private satellites undock after pioneering life-extension mission

The MEV-1 spacecraft, developed by Northrop Grumman's Space Logistics, successfully undocked with Intelsat's IS-901 satellite. Photo released April 9, 2025.

Two commercial satellites have completed an undocking maneuver high above Earth, signaling the successful end to a pioneering spacecraft life-extension mission.

The Mission Extension Vehicle-1 (MEV-1), developed by Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Space Logistics LLC, docked with Intelsat’s IS-901 communications satellite in 2020 in a graveyard orbit, a few hundred miles above geosynchronous orbit (GEO), an orbital belt 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth.

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