Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM)

The Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission is designed to expand broadband coverage to the Arctic region for the U.S. Space Force and Space Norway.

ASBM employs two satellites designed to operate in a highly elliptical orbit to reach the Arctic coverage area. The satellites include multiple payloads including military payloads for the U.S. and Norwegian Armed Forces, as well as a commercial payload for Viasat, and a radiation monitor for the European Commission. This marks the first time an operational DoD payload (EPS-R) will be hosted on an international space vehicle.

As the industry begins to see more government-commercial hybrid missions, and more missions with stakeholders from multiple countries, Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor defining possible in space by designing, providing, integrating and testing both spacecraft, ASBM-1 and ASBM-2. ASBM leverages Northrop Grumman’s vertically-integrated manufacturing and design capabilities to provide the GEOStar-3 flight-proven spacecraft bus and secondary structures, propellant tanks, solar arrays and heat pipe panels.

EPS-R

Northrop Grumman’s secure payload interface completely isolates EPS-R from the rest of the satellite, paving the way for future hybrid military-commercial launches and bringing down the cost of distributing capabilities.

With the EPS-R Payload, Northrop Grumman is delivering protected, anti-jam military satellite communications coverage to U.S. forces operating in the Arctic region.

CAPS

Northrop Grumman is also providing the Control and Planning Segment (CAPS), a next-generation ground system that receives telemetry and supplies configuration commands, mission planning and cryptographic planning for the EPS and EPS-R polar-orbiting payloads.

Military Broadband

Northrop Grumman built a military broadband payload to be operated by the Norwegian Armed Forces. This is the first dedicated military capability in the Arctic and it will be an important capacity for Allied nations operating in the High North.

Commercial Broadband

Through the Northrop Grumman-built satellites, Viasat will be able to provide seamless broadband to aerospace, maritime and ground users operating in the High North.

Courtesy of Northrop Grumman.

Falcon 9 is a reusable, two-stage rocket designed and manufactured by SpaceX for the reliable and safe transport of people and payloads into Earth orbit and beyond.

Falcon 9 is the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket.

Stats

Total launches: 395

Total landings: 351

Total reflights: 326

The Falcon 9 has launched 52 humans into orbit since May 2020

Specs

Height: 70 m / 229.6 ft

Diameter: 3.7 m / 12 ft

Mass: 549,054 kg / 1,207,920 lb

Payload to Low Earth Orbit (LEO): 22,800 kg / 50,265 lb

Payload to Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO): 8,300 kg / 18,300 lb

Payload to Mars: 4,020 kg / 8,860 lb

On January 24, 2021, Falcon 9 launched the first ride-share mission to Sun Synchronous Orbit. It was delivering a record-setting 143 satellites to space. And while this was an important mission for SpaceX in itself, it was also the moment Falcon 9 overtook United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V for the total number of consecutive successful launches.

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 had become America’s workhorse rocket, launching 31 times in 2021. It has already beaten that record this year, launching almost an average of once a week. While most of the launches deliver Starlink satellites to orbit, the company is still launching the most commercial payloads to orbit, too.

Falcon 9 is a medium-lift launch vehicle, with the capability to launch over 22.8 metric tonnes to low earth orbit. Unlike any other rocket, its first stage lands back on Earth after separating from its second stage. In part, this allows SpaceX to offer the cheapest option for most customers with payloads that need to reach orbit.

Under its ride-share program, a kilogram can be placed in a sun-synchronous orbit for a mere 1.1 million dollars, far cheaper than all other currently operating small satellite launch vehicles.

The reusability and fast booster turnaround times have made Falcon 9 the preferred choice for private companies and government agencies. This has allowed SpaceX to capture a huge portion of the launch market.

Photo courtesy of Jenny Hautmann for Supercluster.

Space Launch Complex 4 (SLC-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base is SpaceX’s west coast launch and landing facility, with its launch pad designated SLC-4E (the eastern-most of the two areas). Originally built in the early 1960s for Atlas-Agena rockets, the pad served that rocket line until 1967, when it was taken offline and rebuilt for Titan IIID rockets. From 1971 to 1988, SLC-4E launched Titan IIID rockets, after which it was reconfigured for Titan IV missions, which continued between 1991 and 2005.

In 2011, SpaceX leased SLC-4E and spent two years rebuilding the pad for its Falcon 9 rocket. From 2013 to 2019, the pad exclusively supported Falcon 9 polar missions. However, in 2020, SpaceX began splitting polar launches between Vandenberg and Cape Canaveral, after the Air Force lifted a 51-year ban on Florida-based polar launches, previously imposed due to the risk of overflying Cuba during launch. Despite these new opportunities from Florida, SpaceX plans to continue utilizing Vandenberg, with many more launches scheduled from this location.

Photo courtesy of SpaceX

"Of Course I Still Love You" (OCISLY) is one of SpaceX’s Autonomous Spaceport Drone Ships used to recover Falcon 9 rocket boosters from the ocean. Like its sister ships, "Just Read the Instructions" (JRTI) and "A Shortfall of Gravitas" (ASOG), OCISLY plays a crucial role in SpaceX’s reusability program, which aims to make spaceflight more cost-effective and sustainable.

The name "Of Course I Still Love You" is inspired by science fiction author Iain M. Banks' Culture series, known for its imaginative and whimsical ship names. This naming theme extends to SpaceX's other drone ships.

OCISLY originally operated in the Atlantic Ocean, primarily from Cape Canaveral, Florida. It has since been retired and replaced by ASOG in the Atlantic, with its operations shifting to the Pacific Ocean.

Equipped with advanced navigation systems and thrusters for precise positioning, OCISLY featured a large landing platform designed for recovering rocket boosters at sea. It was instrumental in supporting missions where boosters couldn’t return to solid ground, enabling SpaceX to reuse rocket stages and contribute to lowering costs and improving the sustainability of space missions.