SES is expanding its satellite life extension program, already the most extensive in the commercial geostationary orbit (GEO) market. With five missions planned between 2026 and 2029, the Luxembourg-based operator is significantly investing in prolonging the operational life of its satellites. On Nov. 13, SES announced a contract with French startup Infinite Orbits to utilize Endurance, a 750-kilogram servicer scheduled to launch in late 2027.
Endurance will initially dock with an SES satellite in graveyard orbit, approximately 360 kilometers above the GEO arc. This satellite, while out of service, is maintained on “life support” to serve as a docking testbed, according to Jean-Luc Froeliger, a vice president and senior advisor at SES. Froeliger, formerly with Intelsat, which recently merged with SES, explained that after the successful demonstration, Endurance would move to an in-service SES satellite, potentially adding five years to its operational life, currently expected to end in 2029. Typically, GEO satellites are designed for 15-20 years of operation before fuel depletion.
The upcoming years are busy for satellite life extenders at SES, driven by agreements Intelsat secured before its acquisition. In the second quarter of 2026, Starfish Space plans to launch Otter, a 300-400 kilogram servicer, for SES. Like Endurance, Otter will first validate its autonomous docking system on a retired SES satellite before servicing an active satellite nearing the end of its fuel supply.
Around the same time, SpaceX is slated to launch the first Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV), a next-generation platform operated by Northrop Grumman’s SpaceLogistics. The MRV will use a robotic arm to install 350-kilogram propulsion “jetpacks” called Mission Extension Pods (MEPs), adding six years of life to a GEO satellite. SES has ordered two MEPs, launching alongside the MRV. Australian operator Optus has ordered one MEP for its Optus D3 satellite, launched in 2009 for TV broadcast and communications.
The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) announced on Nov. 14 the shipment of robotic arms for the MRV to Northrop’s integration facility. NRL developed these arms under a DARPA contract. Northrop Grumman pioneered the satellite life-extension market with its Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV) program, with Intelsat as the primary customer. MEV-1, launched in 2019, successfully extended the life of Intelsat-901, moving it from graveyard orbit back into service under a five-year contract.
MEV-1 detached earlier this year to extend the life of Optus D3 before it receives an MEP. SES plans to use MEV-1 after that to extend another GEO satellite between mid-2026 and early 2029, according to Froeliger. “If you want to extend the life of a satellite, you don’t have to wait until the satellite runs out of fuel,” he said. “You can extend it at any time. You can even extend it at beginning of life.” Meanwhile, MEV-2, which docked with Intelsat 10-02 in 2021, has a follow-on contract to extend that mission by four years to 2030.