Private Mission Launches To Extend Life of Out-of-Gas Communication Satellites

Northrop Grumman has launched a private satellite-servicing mission to attach life-extending “jetpacks” to aging communications satellites in geosynchronous orbit. “It’s the second satellite-saving mission to launch this month, all part of a growing, money-saving effort to keep spacecraft running as long as possible,” reports Phys.org. From the report: Launched by SpaceX, Northrop Grumman’s mission robotic vehicle – dubbed MRV – and its jetpacks will spend the next year angling into the proper orbit 22,300 miles (36,000 kilometers) above Earth.