{"id":46361,"date":"2026-07-21T17:15:46","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-launches-novel-geosynchronous-robotic-servicing-satellite-on-decade-long-mission\/"},"modified":"2026-07-21T17:15:46","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T09:15:46","slug":"spacex-launches-novel-geosynchronous-robotic-servicing-satellite-on-decade-long-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-launches-novel-geosynchronous-robotic-servicing-satellite-on-decade-long-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX launches novel geosynchronous robotic servicing satellite on decade-long mission"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--[CDATA[\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_73970\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73970\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"--><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260721-MRV-MEP_liftoff_JP-1.jpeg\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73970\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 21, 2026. Onboard was the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory\u2019s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS), the main payload on Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mission Robotic Vehicle spacecraft. There were also three Mission Extension Pods from Northrop Grumman onboard. Image: John Pisani\/Spaceflight Now<\/figcaption><p>A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Tuesday carrying Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) and three Mission Extension Pods (MEPs), a novel mission designed to prolog the lifespans of multiple satellites.<\/p>\n<p>The MRV is equipped with the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload, a pair of robotic arms with an array of tool attachments developed at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory with financial backing from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73958\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73958\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260721-mev-mep-high-01.jpg\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73958\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Following its launch in summer 2026, Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mission Robotic Vehicle (left) will install Mission Extension Pod (right) jetpacks to extend the lives of client satellites in geosynchronous orbit. MRV also can perform inspection, relocation, repairs, upgrades, and other missions yet to be imagined. Illustration credit: Northrop Grumman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Following deployment, the MRV and MEPs will spend a year heading out to geosynchronous Earth orbit. Once there, the MRV will begin the process of installing MEPs onto clients\u2019 spacecraft, including those owned by Australia-based company Optus and Luxembourg-based company SES.<\/p>\n<p>The MEPs, which carry fresh supplies of maneuvering fuel, are designed to provide up to eight years of additional life for a satellite.<\/p>\n<p>Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 40 occurred at 5:15 p.m. EDT (2115 UTC). The rocket flew due east upon leaving the launch pad.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position:relative;width:100%;padding-top:56.25%;overflow:hidden;\"><iframe title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/2h4gxuQ9lPA?si=Ft3tFfY7zQZK-QFx\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0;\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share; fullscreen\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>SpaceX launched the mission using the Falcon 9 first stage booster B1069, which made its 32nd and final flight. The company said this would be the boosters final mission \u201cDue to the additional performance needed to launch these payloads to geosynchronous transfer orbit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to 27 batches of Starlink satellites, B1069 launched the following missions:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dec. 21, 2021 \u2013 NASA\u2019s CRS-24<\/li>\n<li>Oct. 15, 2022 \u2013 Eutelsat\u2019s Hotbird 13F<\/li>\n<li>Dec. 8, 2022 \u2013 OneWeb\u2019s OneWeb Mission 15<\/li>\n<li>Mar. 17, 2023 \u2013 SES\u2019 SES-18 &amp; 19<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Decades in the making<\/h4>\n<p>The concept behind the RSGS goes back more than 20 years when the NRL began examining the possibility of two uncrewed spacecraft performing autonomous rendezvous and docking operations. In the early 2000s, that evolved into a study called \u2018RescueSat\u2019, looking at how to recover a satellite stuck in the wrong orbit, and eventually the Spacecraft for the Universal Modification of Orbits (SUMO) program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe SUMO mandate was daunting. DARPA challenged us to design a robot that could dock with any satellite in space,\u201d said Glen Henshaw, Ph.D., NRL Lead Space Roboticist for RSGS in a prelaunch statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe then realized a universal truth\u2014every satellite got to space on a rocket! By targeting the sturdy \u2018launch vehicle interface plane\u2019\u2014the structural ring or explosive bolt holes that attach a spacecraft to a rocket for launch\u2014we determined that a robotic arm could safely grapple almost any spacecraft without damaging delicate instruments.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73959\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73959\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260721-MRV-cleanroom.jpg\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73959\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The MRV inside Northrop Grumman\u2019s Dulles, Va., Satellite Manufacturing Facility. Image: Northrop Grumman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After proving the concept was possible, by 2005 the SUMO program shifted to the Front End Robotics Enabling Near-term Demonstration (FREND). That program would go onto develop spaceflight worthy robotic arms through a commercial vendor.<\/p>\n<p>Alliance Spacesystems, Inc. (ASI), the company who built the robotic arms for NASA\u2019s Mars Curiosity Rover, was selected and environmental testing began in 2008.<\/p>\n<p>To find a good business case for these arms, a series of studies were conducted, including a joint NASA-DARPA study in 2012 called the Manned GEO Servicing study. Ultimately, DARPA moved the technology back into what the NRL called \u201cresearch and hardware maturation via a spaceflight concept program called Phoenix.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After years of studying and contemplation, DARPA decided to proceed with what was then called the RSGS payload to pursue \u201cultra-close inspection, orbital \u2018tow truck\u2019 relocation, mechanical anomaly repair, and upgrading satellites not originally designed to be upgraded.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Four years later in 2019, it selected SpaceLogistics, a Northrop Grumman company to combine the RSGS with the MRV. Following initial checkouts, the RSGS program will be turned over to the U.S. Space Force in support of its Servicing, Mobility, and Logistics portfolio.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_73960\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-73960\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"100%\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/20260721-MEP-inspection.jpg\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-73960\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">A Northrop Grumman employee at the company\u2019s manufacturing facility in Gilbert, Arizona, performs final inspections of one Mission Extension Pod (MEP). Image: Northrop Grumman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on July 21, 2026. Onboard was the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory\u2019s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS), the main payload on Northrop Grumman\u2019s Mission Robotic Vehicle spacecraft. There were also three Mission Extension Pods from Northrop Grumman [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46361"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/46362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}