Northrop Grumman Corporation has successfully handed over mission operations of Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) satellites and completed activation of U.S. Space Force (USSF) Space Systems Command’s (SSC) two Enhanced Polar System – Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads, hosted aboard ASBM. The mission launched in August from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

• The two ASBM satellites host payloads for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and Viasat, which will expand X-band and Ka-band connectivity across the Arctic region, and the Norwegian Radiation Monitor, provided by Norwegian company IDEAS for the European Commission, which will provide data on operations in triple-apogee Highly Elliptical Orbit.
• The EPS-R payloads on ASBM provide protected military satellite communications for U.S. and allied forces operating in the Northern Polar region.
• EPS-R significantly increases the capacity of the existing Enhanced Polar System (EPS) payloads and extends the mission until next-generation protected MILSATCOM systems come online in the mid-2030s.

Blake Bullock, vice president, of military space systems, Northrop Grumman: “Thanks to a bold vision from our customers and enabled by Northrop Grumman’s end-to-end capabilities, deep mission understanding, and unmatched MILSATCOM legacy our service members and allies can now count on reliable, secure communications in this strategically important region while next-generation systems are developed.”

ASBM is a historic partnership between Space Norway and the U.S. Space Force, marking the first time an operational U.S. military payload is hosted on an international commercial space mission. This first-of-its-kind accomplishment is the latest chapter in Northrop Grumman’s long history of supporting protected MILSATCOM missions. The company has developed, built, and delivered protected MILSATCOM payloads for every protected MILSATCOM program since the Milstar program, which launched in the 1990s.

The EPS-R payloads are operated by the Northrop Grumman-led Control and Planning Segment ground system, which has been upgraded with a common baseline software to operate both EPS and EPS-R, eliminating the need for training on two separate control systems.

Northrop Grumman provided two GEOStar-3 satellites for this mission in addition to payload development, integration, testing, launch support, and early mission operations for Space Norway. Northrop Grumman also provided two Satellite Control Ground Systems, located in Tromsø and Bardufoss, Norway.

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