After reaching the orbit position, the supplier, Northrop Grumman, continued in-orbit testing until the ASBM handover in the middle of October, 2024. The formal handover of ownership to Space Norway marks an important milestone for Space Norway and the Norwegian space industry.

Norwegian control

With this handover, Space Norway and Norway now have full control over an important space capability. The ASBM satellites are of great significance for all types of operations in the Arctic, including for the Norwegian Armed Forces and our allies.

Space Norway’s team is ready to shift gears to satellite operations and management as the command is transferred to the ASBM Space Operations Centre.

Important payloads

The satellites contain payloads for the satellite operator Viasat, the Norwegian and American Armed Forces, and the EU Commission.

From orbit the satellites ensure continuous broadband coverage to aircraft, research vessels, fishing vessels, cruise ships, coast guard, expeditions and others operating in the Arctic.

Not least, the Norwegian Armed Forces now gain access to very important communication capacity, which is crucial for cooperation with allied forces in the north.

Testing the payloads

Testing of the Norwegian Armed Forces’ payload was carried out at Eggemoen by Northrop Grumman with support from Space Norway. The payload performed very well, and the testing was conducted according to plan.

Testing of Viasat’s payload was far more complex and was carried out from Bardufoss with the Viasat team leading. Northrop Grumman, the Space Norway team, and Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT) were also involved. Viasat completed the testing two days ahead of schedule thanks to excellent planning by both the Viasat team and the Norwegian side.

Testing of the American EPS-R payload was conducted by Northrop Grumman and the US Space Force according to plan.

Norm, a Norwegian-developed payload

The Norwegian-developed payload NORM, produced by the Norwegian company IDEAS and financed through the Norwegian ESA contribution and the space centre, functions well and as expected.

The instrument collects data delivered to the EU Commission. There data are important for mapping the radiation environment in space, which is important for the design of future satellites.

ASBM handover of payload in November

Space Norway will transfer ownership of the X-band payloads and ground infrastructure at Eggemoen to the Norwegian Armed Forces in early November. Viasat will start its operations around the same time. Viasat leases the payload from Space Norway for the entire lifetime of the satellite.

Space Norway’s program for broadband to the Arctic is completed, and the two large satellites launch from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The satellites, measuring 3x3x4 meters, with a wingspan of 27 meters, weighing 3,5 tons each, will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellites will provide continuous broadband coverage to aircraft, ships, research vessels, fishing vessels, cruise ships, expeditions and troops operating in the Arctic by using a Highly Elliptical Orbit.

The Norwegian Armed Forces will operate a critical communication capability, for use in cooperation with allied forces operating in the high north. Existing geo stationary satellites do not offer coverage north of 75 degrees, where end users up until now have relied on one way radio communication or Iridium satellite phones.

The satellites carry payloads from the satellite communication company Viasat, the Norwegian Armed Forces as well as the U.S. Space Force. One of the satellites carries a radiation monitor developed in Norway, designed to map the radiation environment in space, a knowledge crucial to the European Commission´s development of future satellites.

The Arctic has been named Norway’s most important area of interest by several governments, and with this launch, Norway controls important communication services in an area that up until now has been without broadband coverage.

“This is a milestone in Norwegian space history. It is important to our country, it is important to us as a company, but most of all it is important for those who operate and work from Svalbard and further north”, says Morten Tengs CEO, Space Norway. “On behalf of the team and the whole company, I am very proud to see this huge endeavor realized. This mission shows what we are capable of as well as giving a hint of what the future will bring”, Tengs says.

“This satellite program is a ground- breaking effort in an allied, governmental & commercial collaboration. It is a showcase of how governmental and commercial needs can be met at a critical point for all involved. Our focus in this mission is the value it creates for civil users such as ships, aircraft and governmental users such as rescue services and the coastguard, as well as national and allied forces”, says ASBM Program Director Kjell-Ove Orderud Skare.

The satellites will be released from the rocket at 160 kilometers altitude and will spend ten days using their own engines raising to their highly elliptical orbit at 44, 000 kilometers over the northern hemisphere and 8, 000 kilometers over the southern hemisphere. The Falcon 9 booster will land and be reused after carrying the satellites into space. Once in orbit, the satellites will be operated from the newly built operations center in Tromsø. End users are likely to be able to use the connection from late autumn.

The life span of the satellites is estimated at 15 years and the program has an investment frame of USD 450M, with all capacity sold for all 15 years.

Positive to acquisition

In order to acquire Telenor Satellite, Space Norway needed the Norwegian Parliament’s approval to provide the necessary equity. Just before Christmas 2023, the Parliament provided Space Norway with equity.

According to Telenor Satellites’ CEO, Morten Tengs, the acquisition is a positive development for Telenor Satellite. He emphasises that Space Norway has some of the most innovative projects in this industry.

Finances with equity

Financed with equity, the government provided capital to Space Norway to finance the purchase of Telenor Satellite.

“We have had good cooperation with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries in the acquisition process. Now that we have ownership of Telenor Satellite, it provides new and significant opportunities for development and growth for Space Norway”, says Stølan.

Telenor Satellite, which is a leading European provider of satellite broadcasting and data communication services, has undertaken a refurbishment of its fibre network infrastructure, based on industry leading media delivery equipment from Net Insight, ensuring that the company offers secure, high-quality, low-latency content delivery.

Telenor Satellite is delighted to announce that Multi Service Network (MSNW) has been renamed to Euro-Fibre, which aligns with the updates to the operating systems on its terrestrial network.

The company, which is a leading European provider of satellite broadcast and data communications, has undertaken a refurbishment of its fibre network infrastructure, based on industry leading media delivery equipment from Net Insight, ensuring that Telenor Satellite offers secure, high-quality, low-latency content delivery.

With Points of Presence (PoPs) from the Nordics through to Central Europe and a network dedicated to broadcast customers, the Euro-Fibre service from Telenor Satellite offers broadcasters, data centres and play-outs a seamless high-end fibre network with capable bit rates, diverse and separate routing and built-in redundancy. Telenor Satellite offers clients tailor-made services, including tail circuits, direct to their site with commissioning taking place on short notice. The services are monitored and operated by the 24/7/365 Network Operations Centre (NOC) at Nittedal Teleport.

Norwegian satellite communications leader Space Norway today announces that its THOR 10-02 Ku-band service on Dialog platform from ST Engineering iDirect is being made available to land-based clients in the Middle East.

The company is a major supplier of premium connectivity via satellite to the broadcast, maritime and land-based vertical markets in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (EMEA). With the introduction of the award-winning Dialog platform, the company can offer its clients in the Middle East the increased speeds and bandwidths that were previously only available on its THOR 7 Ka-band services for the maritime & offshore energy customers.