Inside the High-Tech Effort to Keep Satellites Alive
Northrop Grumman has launched a robotic mission to attach fuel-extending jetpacks to aging satellites in orbit. This initiative aims to prolong the lifespan of space infrastructure and reduce the costs associated with launching replacement satellites.
Why it matters
Advancements in satellite servicing could significantly reduce space debris and lower the economic barrier to maintaining orbital networks.
A two-armed space robot blasted off on a private salvage operation Tuesday to slap life-extending jetpacks on old satellites running low on fuel thousands of miles up. It's the second satellite-saving mission to launch this month: Another company's three-armed spacecraft rocketed into orbit on July 3 to boost NASA's Swift Observatory so it doesn't crash to Earth this fall. As the AP reports, it's all part of a growing, money-saving effort to keep spacecraft running as long as possible.
Launched by SpaceX on Tuesday, Northrop Grumman's mission robotic vehicle (MRV) and its jetpacks will spend the next year angling into the proper orbit 22,300 miles above Earth, where hundreds of satellites orbit. Once in place by mid-2027, the minivan-sized spacecraft will use its 10-foot arms to attach a jetpack to an aging communication satellite. Then it will zip off to two more satellites in need.
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