Launched on a Falcon 9, the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission is a military/commercial endeavor with a few “firsts” of note.
The two ASBM satellites host various payloads including the U.S. Military’s Enhanced Polar System-Recapitalization (EPS-R) communications payload, a military broadband payload for the Norwegian Armed Forces and a commercial payload to be operated by Viasat.
According to the Space Systems Command, the partnership with Norway accelerated operational capabilities by three years and potentially saved up to $900 million. EPS-R is the first U.S. military payload hosted on a commercial satellite operated by an international partner. The satellites will also give Norway, a NATO member, X-band satellite communications over the Arctic for its armed forces.
Another first, for SpaceX, was the insertion of the satellites into a Molniya Orbit. The Molniya orbit is a type of highly elliptical orbit designed for providing communication coverage to high-latitude regions such as the Arctic. It was developed by the Soviet Union in the 1960s as an alternative to geostationary orbits, which are less suitable for high-latitude coverage.
Many countries have put payloads on commercial satellites. The Australian Defence Force, for example, has a UHF payload on Intelsat’s IS-22 spacecraft. Placing military payloads on commercial satellites again saves money and time. The Luxembourg SES-16/GovSat 1 is another example of this collaboration.
Moving forward, these partnerships will continue. There will be instances where a dedicated satellite is necessary but if a payload needs to cover a certain area, it might just be more cost-effective to hitch a ride on another satellite. The ASBM satellites have a lifetime of approximately 15 years.