Eutelsat Signs Infinite Orbits for GEO Satellite Life Extension

Eutelsat has agreed to have Infinite Orbits extend the operational life of at least one of its geostationary satellites, the two companies announced today on the sidelines of the International Space Summit in Paris. The deal marks the third life-extension order for the French satellite-servicing company and a concrete commercial win for its Endurance servicer.

The agreement follows Infinite Orbits' prior life-extension deals with SES last year and with Hispasat in 2024. The company frames the Eutelsat order as evidence of rising demand from GEO operators for in-orbit servicing missions, a market that is beginning to gain commercial traction.

Eutelsat operates 31 satellites in geostationary orbit, at least one of which is nearing the end of its usable life. Infinite Orbits is developing spacecraft called Endurance to rendezvous and dock with unprepared satellites in GEO, adding roughly five years of life to each customer satellite. Typical GEO satellites operate for around 15 years without servicing. The additional time allows operators to keep collecting revenue on assets that would otherwise have deorbited or moved into a graveyard trajectory.

Infinite Orbits CEO Adel Haddoud said the economics now work for a range of operators. "GEO operators now, all of them, understand what life extension is, what it can bring," Haddoud told Payload. "From an industrial point of view we are ready to scale, and also from a commercial point of view, our customers are also ready to order more." Haddoud declined to share the cost of each mission but confirmed the "business case closes" for Eutelsat, meaning the cost of the servicing mission is less than the expected revenue from the extra years on orbit.

This week Infinite Orbits opened a new 1,000-square-meter facility in Toulouse, France, for satellite assembly, integration, and testing. The site was built in six months and will produce future Orbit Guard inspection spacecraft and Endurance life-extension spacecraft. The company is planning for an anticipated wave of demand as more GEO satellites approach the end of their service lives.

The Eutelsat agreement validates a niche that has long struggled to prove commercial demand, giving Infinite Orbits a marquee commercial customer for its Endurance vehicle. Haddoud said the company is ready to scale both industrially and commercially to meet expected orders from GEO operators.

Before flying the Eutelsat mission, Infinite Orbits has a series of demonstration flights to test its rendezvous capabilities. It has already flown one Orbit Guard demonstration mission and has at least three more planned in 2027. The company also has a mission planned under a surveillance contract from the French Ministry of Defense. In partnership with Open Cosmos, Infinite Orbits will launch two small satellites, named Tom and Jerry, on an Isar Aerospace Spectrum rocket to low Earth orbit to conduct close-proximity maneuvers. Infinite Orbits will fly its first life-extension mission for SES in 2027 using Endurance, with the Eutelsat mission to follow.