Northrop Grumman launched the Mission Robotic Vehicle (MRV) on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, beginning a planned decade‑long mission to service geosynchronous satellites. The MRV carries the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) payload, developed by the Naval Research Laboratory with funding from DARPA and built by Northrop Grumman. The payload includes two robotic arms with seven degrees of freedom, three Mission Extension Pods, and an array of cameras and sensors for autonomous inspection and capture. The spacecraft will maneuver from its initial elliptical drop‑off orbit into a circular geosynchronous orbit roughly 22,200 miles above the equator, a process that will take about one year. Once in orbit, the robotic arms will grapple the Mission Extension Pods and attach them to client satellites, providing up to eight years of additional propulsion. The system is designed with redundant arms so that failure of one arm does not end the mission, and it can be programmed in advance to execute tasks without real‑time control from the ground. Officials said the mission builds on earlier DARPA programs, including the Orbital Express mission conducted in low‑Earth orbit in 2007 and the RescueSat concept initiated in 2002. The program manager at DARPA, Jim Shoemaker, said the two‑arm design provides greater capability and redundancy compared with the single‑arm Orbital Express system. Northrop Grumman has commercial agreements with SES and Optus to install propulsion pods on their satellites, and the U.S. Space Force plans to use the service for at least one of its own assets. The company will retain ownership of the satellite and payload and will operate them for an expected 10 to 13 years, after which the U.S. government may contract additional services. The mission aims to shift the paradigm from launching and abandoning satellites to enabling on‑orbit repairs, upgrades, and relocations, supporting both commercial and national security needs in geosynchronous orbit. Future launches may carry additional tools such as cutters or robotic screwdrivers, and the MRV is planned to be refueled in orbit, supporting longer operational lifetimes and potential logistics operations.