For the first time, one commercial satellite has grabbed hold of another one in orbit around Earth, demonstrating a technology that could help reduce the proliferation of space debris around our planet by enabling the repair and refueling of dying spacecraft.

“This is the first time in history a docking has been performed with a satellite that was not pre-designed with docking in mind,” Joe Anderson, a vice president at SpaceLogistics, a subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, said during a telephone news conference on Wednesday.

The company built the robotic Mission Extension Vehicle-1, or MEV-1, which was launched in October on top of a Russian Proton rocket. Over the past few months, it has made its way to more than 22,000 miles above Earth’s surface, just above what is known as geosynchronous orbit. Its target was Intelsat 901, an 18-year-old communications satellite that is working fine but running low on fuel.