Space Norway contracts w/ @Inmarsat to launch 2 @northropgrumman-built triple-band satellites to HEO orbit on a @SpaceX Falcon 9 in 2022; @usairforce to provide EHF payload; Inmarsat will use Ka-band & Space Norway X-band for Arctic coverage.
Space Norway will cooperate with the satellite operator Inmarsat and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence to offer mobile broadband coverage to civilian and military users in the Arctic. Two satellites will be built by Northrop Grumman and are scheduled to be launched by SpaceX in late 2022. The ground station will be established in North Norway and ensure Norwegian control of this critically important capability.“This will be a milestone for people in the Arctic who have very limited or no broadband access in the region” says Jostein Rønneberg, Space Norway ́s CEO.“We are building a robust communications capability in an area strategically important to Norway and our partners. This will be vital for surveillance, fishery control and rescue operations in the vast sea area that is under Norwegian control, and will significantly improve our ability to operate in the High North”.Space Norway, a limited liability company owned by the Norwegian government, has established a new subsidiary company, Space Norway HEOSAT AS, to manage the program and operate the two satellites together with Kongsberg Satellites Services in Tromsø, Norway. The program is fully financed with customer agreements in place for the service life of the satellites.“After a multi-year dedicated effort, we are both proud and happy to have closed customer agreements with Inmarsat and with the Norwegian and US militaries”, saysthe Program Director Kjell-Ove Skare. “This is an exciting collaborative effort, which ensures a cost effective solution for all parties. Now we are eager to start the real work of building the satellites and the ground stations. We look forward to providingthe world’s first and only mobile broadband service in the Artic region; somethingwhich has long been an important objective for the Norwegian authorities.”Both satellites will be launched in late 2022 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket into a Highly Elliptical Orbit (HEO), which will provide full coverage from 65 degrees North,which in practical terms is the area North of the Arctic Circle. Each of the two satellites will carry multiple payloads, and the system is scheduled to be operational for at least 15 years with users able to switch between current geostationary satellites and the HEO satellites. Each satellite will have a mass of 2000 kg and provide 6 kWatt power through their sun arrays.
63 degrees is in that tweener region between Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg. Which site is the more likely location for the launch?
Quote from: gongora on 07/03/2019 03:52 pm63 degrees is in that tweener region between Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg. Which site is the more likely location for the launch?I believe these will be in 90 degree inclination orbits. Essentially hovering over the north pole at apogee to cover the entire arctic north of ~63 degrees. So either Vandenberg or south from Cape Canaveral if that option becomes available.
Isn't that a classical Molniya orbit? Wow, I think this is the first commercial Molniya orbit comsat that is not from Russia!
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 07/03/2019 05:00 pmIsn't that a classical Molniya orbit? Wow, I think this is the first commercial Molniya orbit comsat that is not from Russia!This is not a Molniya orbit.The orbits are related in that each is highly eccentric. In each orbits the satellite remains fairly stationary near apogee for most of the orbit, and multiple satellites are needed for continuous coverage.However a Molniya orbit has an inclination of 63 degrees and serves a circle centered on a point 63 degrees north touching the pole on one edge and perhaps 45N on the opposite side. it does not cover the entire arctic. In contrast a polar orbit would serve the area of the arctic circle centered on 90 degrees north.Also because the service area from a Moliniya is not centered on the pole the parameters of the orbit must be chosen so the orbit is Geo-synchronous and the apogee returns to the same spot. So a Moliniya orbit is fairly specific. On the other hand any high eccentricity polar orbit can serve the arctic because of rotational symmetry around the pole, geo-synchronous is not required.
Te orbit is called Tundra Orbit, a sibling of Molnyia but geosynchronous, it goes over a single point rather than two.
Quote from: baldusi on 11/21/2020 05:52 pmTe orbit is called Tundra Orbit, a sibling of Molnyia but geosynchronous, it goes over a single point rather than two.That doesn't seem rightIt is related to the Molniya orbit, with that special inclination.But as smoliarm said, it appears (hovers briefly) "over" three different spots around the north pole.It is NOT geosynchronous is the classical sense that it doe not remain synchronized with the earth's motion at all times. It's ground track loops around the world.That ground track does repeat with a period of three days.(If having an integer number of days between repeat cycles made it "geosynchronous", then ALL orbits would be geosynchronous, just with number much larger than one.)(Ha, smoliarm! I think I passed Orbital Mechanics 401 some 30+ years ago, but can't remember my grade.)
Launch of Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) satellites delayed from late 2022 to early 2023:USSF’s EPS-R Program on Schedule for Historic Polar Mission [dated Oct. 29] (bolds mine)QuoteLOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A unique partnership with Norway and the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command will extend satellite communications for U.S. polar forces and save taxpayers millions of dollars. SSC’s Enhanced Polar Systems-Recapitalization (EPS-R) program successfully completed the ready-to-ship review at the end of September for the first of two payloads to begin the integration process onto Space Norway’s space vehicles. EPS-R is an Extremely High Frequency (EHF) MILSATCOM system designed to extend EPS (legacy) services into the early/mid-2030s. Its mission serves to provide 24/7 protected satellite communications for U.S. polar forces operating in the Arctic region. <snip> Using a host space vehicle like Space Norway means it is imperative the SSC team meets its scheduled deadlines to coordinate with Space Norway, Philichi said. The second payload is expected to hit its ready-to-ship milestone just before Thanksgiving.<snip>Hosting the EPS-R payload on the Norwegian Artic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) is projected to save the USSF more than $900 million dollars, and deliver Satellite Communication capability to the polar region three years faster than a traditional satellite acquisition program. “Norway is a key U.S. ally in the polar region, and because of technology mitigation, the technical risk is low for integrating a National Security Space payload on their Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM),” Leach noted. By January 2022, EPS-R plans to have both of its Northrop Grumman-built payloads complete. The program is on track for a dual launch with Space Norway scheduled for early 2023.
LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A unique partnership with Norway and the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command will extend satellite communications for U.S. polar forces and save taxpayers millions of dollars. SSC’s Enhanced Polar Systems-Recapitalization (EPS-R) program successfully completed the ready-to-ship review at the end of September for the first of two payloads to begin the integration process onto Space Norway’s space vehicles. EPS-R is an Extremely High Frequency (EHF) MILSATCOM system designed to extend EPS (legacy) services into the early/mid-2030s. Its mission serves to provide 24/7 protected satellite communications for U.S. polar forces operating in the Arctic region. <snip> Using a host space vehicle like Space Norway means it is imperative the SSC team meets its scheduled deadlines to coordinate with Space Norway, Philichi said. The second payload is expected to hit its ready-to-ship milestone just before Thanksgiving.<snip>Hosting the EPS-R payload on the Norwegian Artic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) is projected to save the USSF more than $900 million dollars, and deliver Satellite Communication capability to the polar region three years faster than a traditional satellite acquisition program. “Norway is a key U.S. ally in the polar region, and because of technology mitigation, the technical risk is low for integrating a National Security Space payload on their Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM),” Leach noted. By January 2022, EPS-R plans to have both of its Northrop Grumman-built payloads complete. The program is on track for a dual launch with Space Norway scheduled for early 2023.
Space Systems Command (SSC) delivered the first of two EnhancedPolar Systems-Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads to begin integration on Space Norway’s ArcticSatellite Broadband Mission host space vehicles. The second payload is expected to be deliveredfor integration onto the second host space vehicle by the end of July 2022.
MAR 30 To be announced Falcon 9 SLC-4E Vehicle will launch the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission into orbit