MEV-1 & OPTUS D3

Id: 77

Published: 07/29/2025

Description:

After aiding in the relocation of Intelsat 901 to a graveyard orbit in early April, Northrop Grumman's Mission Extension Vehicle MEV-1 returned to geostationary orbit, aligned its plane with Optus D3 at 156.128°E, and has been keeping a distance of 2-7 km as of May 21. Originally docking with Intelsat 901 in 2020 to extend its service, MEV-1 completed its task by towing it to a higher altitude and releasing it for decommissioning, then proceeded westward to rendezvous with its next target. Calculations suggest MEV-1 required significant velocity changes for alignment and approach, highlighting its role in on-orbit servicing to prolong satellite operations, while the retired Intelsat 901 faces a long-term orbital decay.

Keywords:
Click a keyword to filter the list of related assets below.
Videos with related keywords:

Pakistan’s PRSC Satellites Suggest Multi-Modal ISR Coverage Focused on South Asia

Watch Video

Representation of possible large constellations to be in orbit by 2029

Watch Video

Depiction of how encounter rates and collision risk varies as a function of accuracy of the underlying SSA data

Watch Video

SDA GEO participating spacecraft as of 2021

Watch Video

Debris spread resulting from a hypothetical GEO collision.

Watch Video

Relative motion of GEO debris with respect to GEO active spacecraft

Watch Video
Papers with related keywords:
Privacy Policy Cookie Policy Terms of Use Change Privacy Settings

©2026 by COMSPOC Corporation. All rights reserved.

An unhandled error has occurred. Reload ??