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A Mission Extension Vehicle developed by Northrop Grumman's Space Logistics undocks from Intelsat’s IS-901 satellite.
COLORADO SPRINGS—Sustained space maneuver. Dynamic space operations. Maneuvering without regret. These days, the U.S. Space Force is using many terms to describe a mission area where satellites can move in space and continue operating even under duress in a conflict.
The terms pop up all around the Space Foundation’s annual Space Symposium taking place this week here–tucked into panel discussion titles or company pamphlet language, and mentioned in senior leaders’ keynote speeches.
Space Force officials have expressed interest in commercial solutions for space access, mobility and logistics (SAML) technology that would enable military satellites to be easily refueled on orbit or allow for the rapid servicing or deorbiting of an ailing spacecraft.
Those company investments are coming to fruition: Northrop Grumman announced April 9 that a Mission Extension Vehicle developed by the company’s Space Logistics subsidiary recently performed the first undocking between two commercial spacecraft in the geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) graveyard, when the spacecraft decoupled with Intelsat’s IS-901 satellite after providing five years of life-extension services.
The service is supporting several demonstrations in the next year that could help inform future program requirements. U.S. Space Command Commander Gen. Stephen Whiting used his keynote speech on April 8 to tout a new initiative between his command and Spacewerx to invest around $20 million in 10 proposals for prototype on-orbit maneuvering capabilities. That same day, Astroscale U.S. announced plans to attempt two U.S. Space Force satellite refueling operations in geostationary orbit (GEO) after its scheduled launch in the summer of 2026.
The Space Force also recently awarded Northrop Grumman a $70 million contract for its Elixir refueling payload program, where it will design, build and integrate a refueling payload onto a company ESPAStar spacecraft and then attempt to refuel a demonstration client satellite in a test scheduled no earlier than 2028.
The service is looking to on-orbit demonstrations with partners like Astroscale to flesh out the requirements and concepts of operations for future spacecraft to maneuver without regret, Space Systems Command Commander Lt. Gen. Phillip Garrant explained to reporters here in an April 8 media conference. The service must examine the business case of adding more refueling or servicing capabilities to its existing satellites, rather than building cheaper, and more quickly replaceable satellites, he said.
Partnering with the commercial sector will be key to proving out that business case, one way or another. Companies developing SAML capabilities are eagerly looking for opportunities to deploy and test them on orbit.
These companies are looking for a wider availability of rideshare opportunities to get their products into space, Troy Morris, co-founder and CEO of space debris startup Kall Morris Inc., told Aviation Week here April 9. KMI recently conducted a demonstration of its Responsive Engaging Arms for Captive Care and Handling tentacle arm on board the ISS, using the system to perform repeated captures of a free-floating target in a full microgravity environment.
Getting more SAML concepts into space would allow the Space Force and other end users to sift through winning technologies much more quickly, Morris noted. “At a certain point, you have to strap it in and see if it flies,” he said.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Garrant offered similar insight when he shared words of advice for companies vying for tech demo opportunities: “Don’t forget to close the business case on launch.”
While the concept of SAML technology has been discussed for years, this year at Space Symposium the technology seems to be a growing topic of interest, Morris said.
“We are having far more realistic conversations. We’re talking brass tacks and functionals and contracts,” he said. “That wasn’t occurring last year, let alone years before.”
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