[Satellite TODAY 03-15-13] ViviSat has announced the opening of the ATK Robotic Rendezvous and Proximity (RPO) testing facility to ViviSat clients at the headquarters of ATK’s Space Systems Division in Beltsville, Md.
   ViviSat will start offering tours of the facility to its clients during the SATELLITE 2013 Conference in Washington, D.C. next week. The RPO facility allows both ViviSat and ATK to demonstrate and verify critical enabling technologies for complex space missions. At the lab, docking mechanisms prototypes completed by ATK’s Space Systems Divisions will be used to validate contact dynamics and docking performance for ViviSat’s Mission Extension Vehicle (MEV). The MEV, manufactured by ATK, is designed to dock with the orbiting satellite and serve as the propulsion and attitude control systems. This enables mission extension for satellites that have run out of maneuvering fuel yet still have healthy payload and power systems.