spacetoday.net: Orbital ATK wins order for second satellite servicing mission

Orbital ATK wins order for second satellite servicing mission

Posted: Sun, Jan 7, 2018, 9:14 AM ET (1414 GMT)
Orbital ATK Mission Extension Vehicle Illustration (Orbital ATK)

Orbital ATK has signed up a customer for a second Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) satellite life extension spacecraft. Orbital ATK announced Thursday that Intelsat, which signed up to be the customer for the first MEV mission, will also be the customer for MEV-2, slated for launch by mid-2020. MEV-2 will feature upgrades that include the ability to carry hosted payloads and smallsats for later deployment. Orbital ATK said it's seeing interest "from across the industry" in its MEV spacecraft, which can extend the life of geostationary satellites running out of propellant.