SpaceX’s Falcon 9 is ready to launch the Mission Robotic Automobile (MRV-1) mission from Florida on Tuesday night. The MRV-1 car, developed by Northrop Grumman, is a robotic servicing spacecraft able to extending the lifetime of satellites by attaching Mission Extension Pods (MEPs).
Falcon 9 will launch from House Launch Advanced 40 (SLC-40) on the Cape Canaveral House Power Station in Florida on July 21, on the opening of a four-hour launch window at 5:15 PM EDT (21:15 UTC). A backup launch alternative is accessible the next day on the similar time. Following launch, Falcon 9 will comply with an easterly trajectory to geostationary switch orbit (GTO).
Falcon booster B1069, flying on its thirty second flight, might be expended as a result of excessive efficiency required to raise MRV-1 to GTO. The booster has beforehand supported 27 Starlink missions, alongside the CRS-24, Hotbird 13F, OneWeb #15, and SES-18 & SES-19 missions.
Falcon 9, a two-stage partially reusable car, might be on its 669th mission general and 86th of 2026. The primary stage is powered by 9 Merlin 1D sea-level engines, fueled by kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX). The second stage makes use of a single Merlin 1D vacuum-optimized engine and makes use of the identical RP-1 and LOX propellants.
Northrop Grumman’s MRV-1
MRV-1 might be operated by SpaceLogistics, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman. SpaceLogistics — the one firm offering on-orbit servicing to geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) satellites — is deploying 4 payloads on this mission. The primary MRV-1 spacecraft, weighing 3,000 kg, is an on-orbit satellite tv for pc service car that may lengthen the lifetime of as much as thirty 2,000 kg satellites utilizing Mission Extension Pods (MEPs).
SpaceLogistics beforehand launched two demonstration Mission Extension Automobiles (MEVs) that docked with two getting older satellites in 2020 and 2021. MEV-1, launched aboard a Proton-M in 2019, docked with Intelsat 901 in 2020 and moved it again to the geosynchronous arc. In 2025, MEV-1 transferred the satellite tv for pc to its closing graveyard orbit. In contrast to MEV-1, MEV-2 docked with an energetic Intelsat 10-02 in its operational orbit and supplied energy and gasoline to increase its lifespan for 5 years.
T-minus eight days till the launch window begins for our Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites payload.
Two extremely nimble robotic arms made by the @USNRL will journey to geosynchronous orbit through the @northropgrumman Mission Robotic Automobile.
Northrop Grumman pic.twitter.com/zChhC9v04Q
— DARPA (@DARPA) July 14, 2026
Northrop Grumman MRV-1 might be America’s first multi-mission robotic service car able to performing essential life extension, inspection, repairs, and disposal for each business and army satellites. The spacecraft options two three-meter, seven-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) robotic arms, and 20+ situational-awareness cameras for protected orbital rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking (RPOD) procedures.
The car additionally has refuelable chemical propulsion for RPOD and electrical propulsion for orbital maneuvering. Alongside enabling longer satellite tv for pc lifespans, the car additionally contains a Passive Refueling Module which allows future on-orbit refueling of the MRV car. The system is the primary U.S House Power-approved passive refueling system.
SpaceLogistics additionally partnered with the Protection Superior Analysis Initiatives Company (DARPA) to ship the robotic arms constructed by the U.S. Naval Analysis Laboratory. DARPA’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program is researching and creating applied sciences that allow inspection and servicing in GEO of damaged or getting older satellites.
“This upcoming demonstration is about proving the business viability of on-orbit servicing in GEO, making a functionality that might be out there for each business trade and the U.S. authorities,” mentioned James Shoemaker, DARPA’s RSGS program supervisor
Mission Extension Pods
The 400 kg MEPs that MRV-1 will set up are customer-owned and managed propulsion augmentation gadgets. As soon as hooked up by the MRV, the MEP makes use of electrical propulsion to supply orbit management and momentum offloading. After this course of, the shopper will management the spacecraft through a C- or Ku-band telemetry and command system.
DARPA’s robotic servicing arms developed by the U.S. Naval Analysis Laboratory in a clear room (Credit score: DARPA)
As soon as operational, the MEPs might be able to extending every satellite tv for pc’s operational interval by as much as six years. Two of the gadgets might be utilized by Intelsat to service its satellites, with a 3rd purchased by Optus for its D3 communications satellite tv for pc. As soon as in orbit, the payloads will spend as much as a yr climbing to the mandatory altitude, and servicing of spacecraft is predicted to start in 2027.
As the chance of orbital particles will increase for house infrastructure and astronauts in low-Earth orbit, the necessity for protected satellite tv for pc servicing and lifelong extension grows quickly. SpaceLogistics’ automobiles allow refueling, maneuvering, and disposing of getting older satellites in GEO, with the corporate already including 10 years of additional life to present spacecraft.
Rob Hauge, President of SpaceLogistics, emphasised this shift: “We’re creating an in-space servicing infrastructure that has by no means existed earlier than. Our profitable expertise in rendezvous, proximity operations, and docking has laid the muse for this crucial subsequent step in making a extra sustainable mannequin for future satellite tv for pc operations.”
(Lead Picture: Rendering of the MRV-1 car with a Mission Extension Pod. Credit score: SpaceLogistics)
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