Successful launch of Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission

Source: European Commission (DG DEFIS)

Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) was successfully launched on Sunday August 11 (10:02 p.m. EDT). The satellites carrying several payloads will provide continuous broadband coverage to aircraft, ships, research vessels, fishing vessels, cruiseships, expeditions and troops operating in the Arctic by using a Highly Elliptical Orbit.

 

The European Commission is a customer for data acquisition of the Norwegian Radiation Monitor (NORM) payloads that will collect space radiation data along its orbit path, at altitudes ranging between 8,000 km and 43,000 km, benefiting to future development of several components of the EU Space Programme, like Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, SST, and IRIS². As these components of the EU Space programme rely on space systems that are sensitive to space radiation, regular monitoring of radiation levels is crucial to ensure the reliability and longevity of satellites in space and analyse potential disruptions of services.

 

 

Space radiation data is also useful to the scientific community. By analysing the radiation data collected by the instrument, scientists and researchers can contribute to an increase of the knowledge of space weather and of its effects on Earth’s environment.

“Today, we are here to celebrate another step in the EU space programme, and another example of great cooperation between the EU and Norway, as the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, or ASBM, becomes a reality. In 2016, Norway proposed a collaboration with the European GNSS Programme. I am proud to say that this partnership has flourished, demonstrating the close cooperation between Norway and the European Union in the realm of space. A space radiation monitoring unit has been included in the mission, underscoring the EU’s commitment to leveraging space technology for strategic and scientific gains. Highlighted Christoph Kautz, DG DEFIS Director for Space.

 

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“This is a milestone in Norwegian space history. ASBM 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 CEO Morten Tengs at Space Norway. “On behalf of the team and the whole company, I am very proud to see this huge endeavor realised. This mission shows what we are capable of as well as giving a hint of what the future will bring”, Tengs says.

 

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“The ASBM program is a ground- breaking effort in an allied, governmental & commercial collaboration. It is a showcase of the potential of international allied collaboration, both in a cost- efficient manner, as well as by showing 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 programme director Kjell-Ove Orderud Skare.

 

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