Northrop Grumman activates Arctic satcom constellation for Space Force, Norway

Northrop Grumman announced Tuesday that it has handed over mission operations and completed activation of Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) constellation, expanding access to satellite communications in the High North for both the U.S. Space Force and Norway.

Built by Northrop Grumman and launched by SpaceX in August, the two-satellite constellation includes two Enhanced Polar System — Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads and others for Space Norway, a state-owned firm that develops and manages space-based services for government and commercial use. The satellites are intended to operate in a highly elliptical orbit to provide satcom capabilities for both commercial and military applications in the Arctic region.

The EPS-R payloads hosted on ASBM are expected to add to the capacity of Enhanced Polar System (EPS) payloads currently on orbit, extending the Pentagon’s satcom capability in the Arctic region until the U.S. Space Force’s Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS) system is fielded in the early 2030s, according to the Defense Department.

In addition, Northrop Grumman upgraded its ground system that’s used to operate the older EPS satellites with a common baseline software. The upgrades allow for both EPS and EPS-R on the same architecture, “eliminating the need for training on two separate control systems,” a company press release stated.

The ASBM constellation includes systems for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and Viasat that will boost X-band and Ka-band connectivity in the Arctic, and others for the Norwegian Radiation Monitor to provide data on highly elliptical orbits, according to the contractor.

“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,” Blake Bullock, vice president of military space systems at Northrop Grumman, said in a statement.

While the ASBM satellite contributes to the Defense Department’s effort to increase operational capacity in the Arctic, it also marked the first time a U.S. military payload was hosted on an international commercial space mission — a key step forward in the United States’ efforts to strengthen collaboration with international allies in space.