Dag H. Stølan is appointed to the position of CEO of Space Norway AS. He comes from the position of Director of Infrastructure and CSO in Space Norway. Before joining Space Norway in 2017, Stølan had a long-standing career in the Norwegian Armed Forces, the last position as Major General and Head of procurement at Norwegian Defense Materiel Agency.
Dag H. Stølan succeeds Jostein Rønneberg, who has been leading the company since 2013. The company develops and maintains critical space related infrastructure, and consists of the parent company Space Norway AS and the two subsidiaries Statsat AS and Space Norway HEOSAT AS, as well as the jointly owned Kongsberg Satellite Services AS.
Stølan has deep insight in the company’s activities and is well suited to continue the work Rønneberg has started. He has a long experience in leading organizations with large and complex projects as well as a good understanding of public administration and processes. His background gives him an excellent understanding of the need for critical space services, including the strategic importance of space for its most demanding users.
Chairman of the Board, Svein Olav Munkeby says: “Stølan has been deeply involved in company decisions and has acted as deputy for the CEO. This implies excellent knowledge and oversight of strategy and ongoing activities and future projects. The Board is very content with his appointment and feel that he will bring continuity as well as deliver on our ongoing projects. At the same time, he has the qualifications needed to bring Space Norway into the next phase of its development. All this is important for the Board. I would like to thank Jostein Rønneberg for the exceptional work he has put down in developing Space Norway into a leading satellite company with an order backlog reaching NOK 9 B”.
CEO Jostein Rønneberg, says: “On behalf of the company, I am content with the Board’s decision. Stølan has all the qualifications needed to succeed in taking the company into the future. Space Norway is an important company for Norway, and I wish him good luck”.
“Jostein Rønneberg has brought this company to its solid position and an excellent platform for further growth. I am looking forward to continuing and building on Rønneberg’s work. It is a privilege to be allowed working with the dedicated and highly competent workforce here at Space Norway,” says Dag H. Stølan.
Stølan will take office in June.
22/09/2022
Article from High North News: Taking Network Coverage in the Arctic to New Heights
This is an article from High North News written by Astri Edvardsen, published on 20.09.2022.
With satellites in a highly elliptical orbit above the North Pole, Space Norway's program will provide broadband coverage throughout the Arctic from 2024. "This contributes to show that Norway is serious about its High North Policy," says the program director in the state-owned company.
Next fall, two satellites will be sent out into space to provide broadband coverage throughout the circumpolar Arctic for the first time.
The venture Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) is signed by the Norwegian state-owned company Space Norway, which is under the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Fisheries.
The launch will take place on the US west coast under the auspices of Elon Musk's company SpaceX.
08/09/2022
Minister of Trade and Industry visits Space Norway in Dulles, USA
Minister of Trand and Industry Jan Christian Vestre visited the US in September 2022 . The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the historically deep industrial relations between the two countries. The agenda was further and more targeted cooperation within green tech and opportunities for Norwegian businesses.
The Minister visited Northrop Grumman in Dulles, Virginia on 8th september together with Ambassador Anniken Krutnes. They received an orientation on the building of Space Norway's Arctic satellites. Space Norway entered an agreement with Northrop Grumman in 2019 on the building of two large satellites with military and civillian broadband communication in the Arctic. The satellites will be launched by SpaceX in the autumn of 2023.
26/08/2022
Press release: Space Norway builds radar satellite system for real-time maritime surveillance
On the 25th of August 2022 Space Norway AS signed contracts with vendors and will immediately start building a radar satellite system optimized for maritime surveillance in Norwegian areas of interest.
The payloads will be developed and built by Norwegian suppliers, while the satellite bus and the radar antenna will be built in the UK. The first satellite will be launched early 2025. In the following years, the plan is to launch a number of radar satellites to establish a constellation.
The satellite system named MicroSAR is unique in the way it can detect relatively small vessels in a very large area simultaneously. As of today we don’t know about any radar satellite systems with the same mix of capabilities.
Norway’s sea areas are seven times larger than the Norwegian land area. The Arctic and the High North is Norway’s most important strategic area of interest. This puts strong requirements on situational awareness in these areas. AIS (Automatic Identification System) has for many years been used for maritime surveillance. The challenge is that AIS is a system that requires the vessels themselves to send the required and correct AIS Information. Hence, AIS is a system based on cooperation. Today we estimate that 5 % of the vessels either does not send out AIS Information or are transmitting false information. Satellites with a radar, such as MicroSAR, will be able to detect these vessels independent of the use of AIS. MicroSAR satellites will bring an AIS Receiver to correlate radar detections with AIS Information.
The MicroSAR System is optimized for covering Norwegian needs. However, it will also offer and deliver maritime surveillance services in a global market in the same way as other radar satellites in space today, including surveillance of ship traffic, combating illegal fishing, search and rescue and oil spill detection.
Space Norway works closely with the Norwegian Armed Forces who will be the main customer and buy services and products from MicroSAR when in operation.
Space Norway also work in close cooperation with Kongsberg Satellite Services (KSAT). KSAT establishes, operates, and owns the MicroSAR Ground System, utilizing their existing global network. On behalf of Space Norway, they will provide services related to satellite operations and downlink of MicroSAR data. KSAT will also be responsible for marketing and sales of MicroSAR services and products as part of their portfolio, both in a national and an international market.
The Satellite System will be owned and controlled by Space Norway. This gives Norway an important strategic independent capability under national control to cover their needs for maritime surveillance.
Space Norway has signed contracts with the following vendors to build the first MicroSAR Satellite:
Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL) is a UK company with long experience in building satellites. SSTL will deliver the satellite platform and be responsible for integration of the payloads on board. SSTL will also be responsible for building the radar antenna through their sub-contractor Oxford Space Systems (OSS).
The payloads will be developed and produced by the Norwegian companies WideNorth, Eidsvoll Electronics (EIDEL), Kongsberg Seatex and Norwegian Defence research Establishment (FFI). Hence, the project will also contribute significantly to business development of Norwegian companies.
Space Norway’s current plans are to launch the first satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 as a Rideshare. When establishing a constellation, the satellites will be launched on dedicated launchers. The establishment of Andøya Spaceport may result in future MicroSAR satellites being launched from Norway.
The MicroSAR satellites will follow polar orbits in various orbital planes at an altitude of about 600 km and will weigh about 300 kg.
Contact person:
Dag H Stølan
CSO and Director Infrastructure
Phone: +47 400 29 601
E-mail: dag-hugo.stolan@spacenorway.no
29/06/2022
Preparing for launch
A group of engineers and operators from Space Norway are currently visiting the British satellite operator Avanti in Goonhilly in Cornwall, to attend satellite operations courses. The team is strengthening their competence in satellite control and operations as a preparation for the upcoming launch of the ASBM (ASBM, Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission) satellites in 2023.
Satellite communications is understandably associated with strict security requirements and require highly dependable ground systems. The satellite operations control centre monitors the satellites 24/7. Telemetry is downloaded from the satellites and processed to ensure that all systems are operating per specification. The satellite operators work continuously in conjunction with the customers to qualify the mission requirements. The uniqueness of ASBM due to its highly elliptical choice of orbit as well as the close collaboration with its international partners Inmarsat, the Norwegian Armed Forces and the US Space Command, places significance on the development of a solid organization for satellite operations.
The Norwegian engineers are trained for a duration of two months at the British operator Avanti. Avanti was chosen for this assignment because it utilizes the same satellite operations software as Space Norway has implemented for ASBM. By participating in this training program, Space Norway ensures that its operations team holds solid competence in satellite operations prior to launching the satellites next year. Birger Johansen is leading the engineers from Space Norway and KSAT, and he believes they have benefited greatly from attending this training program in Goonhilly. – Our personnel collaborate very well with the satellite operators from Avanti. We have met persons with Avanti who hold a similar mindset as what we are used to from our organizations. There is a flat hierarchical structure in the company, and they share the same approach to problem-solving. The cultural similarities enable the training to be particularly efficient in readying our team for operating the satellites after launch, and contributes to significantly reducing the operational risk, states a satisfied Johansen.
The two Norwegian HEO-satellites shall be operational within one and a half year. They represent the first satellites from Western space industry to circulate the Earth in high-elliptical orbits across the two poles.
The ground stations have already been built in Tromsø and at Bardufoss and are ready to receive and process the information coming from the two satellites. Space Norway and KSAT are collaborating closely to prepare a round-the-clock, 24/7 organization for operating the ground stations once the satellites are operational in orbit.
Important test of the ground stations for ASBM
The HEOSAT-project has reached a key milestone and began end-to-end testing of the ground segment (for the satellite system) during the second half of June.
Towards the end of 2023 two large satellites will be launched into a high-elliptical orbit going across the north pole. ASBM (Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission) is Space Norway’s major initiative to pioneer providing broadband communication to the Arctic region.
During the construction of the two satellites there is a major test program implemented to ensure that all the equipment onboard is built to sustain the extreme conditions offered in a space environment and experienced during a launch. The testing involves exposing the individual satellite components to temperatures, radiation levels and vibration levels equivalent of those experienced during launch and in space.
During the construction of the two satellites there is a major test program implemented to ensure that all the equipment onboard is built to sustain the extreme conditions offered in a space environment and experienced during a launch. The testing involves exposing the individual satellite components to temperatures, radiation levels and vibration levels equivalent of those experienced during launch and in space.
The purpose of the ongoing end-to-end testing of the ground segment is to secure that the ground stations are properly connected with the customers such that all communication and exchange of data, for example ephemeris, telemetry and commands, are transferred according to plan.
The two-week long test campaign involves teams of personnel from Space Norway, the satellite provider Northrop Grumman and the ground segment provider KSAT. The customers are also an active part of the test campaign, and representatives of the Norwegian and US Armed Forces as well as Inmarsat are standby to confirm data reception at their respective ends, as well as ready to report any possible deviations from specification. In this respect, the end-to-end test campaign serves as a first full-scale test of the supply chain from the satellite operations control center to the customers.
27/06/2022
Press release: EPS-R payload delivered and begins integration into the ASBM host vehicle
Date June 8th 2022
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Space Systems Command (SSC) delivered the first of two Enhanced Polar Systems-Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads to begin integration on Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission host space vehicles. The second payload is expected to be delivered for integration onto the second host space vehicle by the end of July 2022. SSC’s joint partnership with Norway is allowing the hosted payload to deliver capabilities three years ahead of schedule with potential savings of up to $900 million. A successful integration and testing process will highlight the effectiveness of the U.S. Space Force, Norway’s Ministry of Defense, and Space Norway’s strategic partnership.
Read this Space News article on the Arctic connectivity competition
This is a Space News article written by Jason Rainbow, May 13th 2022.
Satellite operators are venturing into the Arctic to improve connectivity as the changing atmospheric and geopolitical climate drives demand for more bandwidth in one of Earth’s last remaining frontiers.
Fledgling and established operators alike see a growing market for capacity in areas best served by satellites in non-geostationary orbit (NGSO).
OneWeb and SpaceX’s Starlink, the world’s largest broadband megaconstellations in low Earth orbit (LEO), already have polar-orbiting satellites in their expanding fleets.
SES is looking at using inclined planes to cover the Arctic with O3b mPower, its next-generation medium Earth orbit network that aims to start deploying satellites this year.
The Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) — a joint venture between British satellite operator Inmarsat, the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Air Force — plans to deploy two satellites in highly elliptical orbits on a SpaceX Falcon 9 in 2023 for polar coverage.
Russian Satellite Communications Co. (RSCC) has outlined plans to add four satellites in highly elliptical orbits to its fleet in the following years to extend coverage deep into the Arctic Circle.
21/06/2022
SpaceNews article on the need for broadband in the Arctic
This is a SpaceNews article written by Sandra Erwin, June 9th 2022
The payloads are scheduled to lift off in 2023 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force announced June 8 it delivered the first of two military communications payloads that will launch in 2023 on Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission known as ASBM.
The $1.3 billion Enhanced Polar Systems-Recapitalization (EPS-R) payloads – developed by Northrop Grumman — will fly to highly elliptical orbits on two ASBM satellites scheduled to lift off next year on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
The mission also includes communications payloads for the Norwegian Ministry of Defense and for British satellite operator Inmarsat. The EPS-R are Extremely High-Frequency Extended Data Rate payloads that will provide secure communications services for U.S. forces operating in the north polar region.
01/03/2022
Redundancy on primary telecom connection to Svalbard restored
Space Norway AS owns the fibre optic cable between Svalbard and mainland Norway. The cable is a key element of Norway’s infrastructure in the Arctic and provides broadband telecom services both to the civil society and the science and space activities at Svalbard. Since Friday, January 7th, 2022, the system has been operating without the full specified redundancy. As of January 18th, 2022, this redundancy is restored.
The Svalbard fibre system is built as a fully redundant solution with two cables separated approximately 5-10 km on the seabed. The redundancy ensures continued operations if one of the two connections fails to function. At 04:10 CET on Friday, January 7th, 2022, one of the two connections experienced a failure. This failure did not in any way change the ability to communicate effectively with Svalbard in the same manner as before, but it represented a temporary lack of redundancy.
The analysis of the failure indicated a shunt failure in the cable causing loss of power to some of the signal repeaters. Through a workaround applying an alternate power supply to the damaged cable, the redundancy was restored during the evening of January 18th, 2022. This minimizes the operating risk until final cable repair can be performed probably in the February 2022 timeframe, depending on the availability of the cable vessel and the necessary weather conditions.
POC at Space Norway: Dag H Stølan, Head of Infrastructure, +4740029601/ dhs@spacenorway.no