Orbital Recovery is seeking industry partners to develop a spacecraft designed to extend the useful life of telecommunication satellites by 10 years or more.
The Geosynchronous Spacecraft Life Extension System (SLES), which would make its first flight in 2004, will operate as an orbital "tugboat", supplying the propulsion, navigation and guidance to keep a telecommunication satellite in its correct orbit. The system could be used when satellites run out of stationkeeping propellants, but their payloads continue to operate, or to rescue spacecraft that have been placed in a wrong orbit or stranded in an incorrect orbital location during positioning manoeuvres, says the Los Angeles-based company. It has completed the definition work and is seeking to set up an industrial team to produce the SLES.
The system is designed to mate with all satellites. It will connect using a docking device on the satellite's apogee kick motor. The system will be built around a main bus containing control and management systems and the primary ion propulsion system. Attitude control will be provided by ion thruster packs, with onboard systems powered by solar panels.
The company has identified more than 40 satellites in orbit that are candidates for life extension using SLES. Orbital anticipates one mission in 2004, two in 2005 and three a year thereafter.
Source: Flight International