Intelsat's IS-901 satellite is nearly 20 years old, and well beyond its expected lifespan, but a small spacecraft built by Northrop Grumman succeeded in docking with the satellite and giving it another five years of service, the companies announced on Friday.

The feat is a space industry first, as extending the life of spacecraft already in orbit has only been done with human help before – such as the Hubble telescope servicing missions conducted by NASA astronauts.

Northrop Grumman's spacecraft MEV-1 successfully docked with IS-901 on Feb. 25. Intelsat's satellite was launched in June 2001 and was only intended to serve for 13 years, providing communications services in the Atlantic Ocean region. The satellite is in a fixed position above the Earth in what is known as geosynchronous orbit – tens of thousands of miles up to provide as wide a coverage area as effectively possible.