Naomi Cooper
Northrop Grumman has completed thermal vacuum testing on the satellite constellation it is building for a Space Norway-led mission to provide broadband communications across the northern polar region.
The Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission comprises two satellites, each carrying an X-Band payload for the Norwegian defense ministry, a Ka-band payload for Viasat and Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization payloads for the U.S. Space Force, Northrop said Tuesday.
The company has completed vibration testing on ASBM-1 at its satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia, and will begin testing on ASBM-2.
Northrop also concluded formal acceptance and turnover for the Control and Planning Segment ground system, which will support compatibility testing with the satellite payloads and interface with the satellite operations center in Norway.
In 2019, Space Norway, a subsidiary of the Norwegian government, selected Northrop to design, develop, integrate and test two broadband satellites for the ASBM program.
The company completed the integration of Space Force payloads on the satellites in August.
