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.
