This milestone delivery keeps the program on track for full assembly of the payload, known as Flight Unit 1, expected to launch in 2028.

“We met multiple challenges across a multiyear timeframe to successfully deliver our components for the next stage of full payload assembly,” said Thai Sheridan, vice president and general manager of military space for BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems. “This program will provide essential next-generation defense and intelligence capabilities for the Space Force.”

The sensor subassembly built by BAE Systems is a significant component of the mission payload and provides the optics, pointing mechanism, controlling electronics and electrical bus interface to the spacecraft.

The sensor system controller interfaces directly to the space vehicle to receive commands and provide telemetry data for the mission. It provides power control and conversion for sensor assembly components as well as high-accuracy mirror direction.

The BAE Systems hardware originally was designed for use with the geosynchronous Earth orbit (GEO) element of the program. Featuring a highly adaptable design, the components were able to be repurposed for the NGP mission, allowing the program to meet challenging schedule needs.

Source: BAE Systems

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Blake Bullock, vice president, military space systems, Northrop Grumman, said, “Thanks to a bold vision from our customers — and enabled by Northrop Grumman’s end-to-end capabilities, deep mission understanding and unmatched MILSATCOM legacy — our service members and allies can now count on reliable, secure communications in this strategically important region while next-generation systems are developed.”

ASBM is a historic partnership between Space Norway and the U.S. Space Force, marking the first time an operational U.S. military payload is hosted on an international commercial space mission. This first-of-its-kind accomplishment is the latest chapter in Northrop Grumman’s long history of supporting protected MILSATCOM missions. The company has developed, built and delivered protected MILSATCOM payloads for every protected MILSATCOM program since the Milstar program, which launched starting in the 1990s.

The EPS-R payloads are operated by the Northrop Grumman-led Control and Planning Segment ground system, which has been upgraded with a common baseline software to operate both EPS and EPS-R, eliminating the need for training on two separate control systems.

Source: Northrop Grumman

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The test flight, which began in Deadhorse, Alaska, and flew within 100 miles of the North Pole, utilized Northrop Grumman’s proprietary navigation systems, mission management computer and upgraded operational flight programs to successfully demonstrate Triton’s ability to navigate in the Arctic. The test aircraft collected navigation data during the five-hour flight and remained within U.S. and Canadian airspace for the duration.

The demonstration also validated ground-based GPS alignment and initialization procedures to enable operations from runways above 70 degrees north latitude. As a high-altitude, long-endurance platform, Triton is suited for missions in the High North by operating well above Arctic winds and avoiding the range and speed impacts that limit mission performance at medium altitudes.

Jane Bishop, vice president and general manager, global surveillance division, Northrop Grumman, said, “Flight operations in austere and frigid conditions present unique navigation challenges. Our demonstration highlights Triton’s ability to successfully perform in that challenging environment.”

Capt. Josh Guerre, Triton program manager, U.S. Navy, said, “Arctic regions are an increasingly important theater of operations with unique threats and environments. We are ready to support those mission sets for domestic and international customers.”

Built for the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force, the multi-intelligence MQ-4C Triton supports a wide range of missions, including maritime patrol, signals intelligence and search and rescue. These aircraft operate at a higher altitude and have longer endurance than medium-altitude systems. They also incorporate simultaneous multi-intelligence sensor operations that allow them to deliver an exponential increase in mission information.

Source: Northrop Grumman

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ASBM uses Northrop Grumman’s GEOStar-3 hosting platform and to date, the GEOStar space vehicles have been used in over 40 missions.

Space Systems Command’s Enhanced Polar System-Recapitalization (EPS-R) payload, designed for secure military satellite communication, will be the first operational U.S. military payload hosted on a commercial space vehicle operated by an international partner.

The ASBM satellites are scheduled for launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California as early as mid-July.

Brandon White, vice president and general manager, tactical space systems, Northrop Grumman, said, “ASBM pioneers a new path for hybrid government-commercial missions. Northrop Grumman’s work with ASBM showcases our decades of on-orbit experience and end-to-end space technology expertise, delivering coverage to one of the most hard-to-reach regions of the globe.”

ASBM is a combined effort between Space Norway, the Norwegian Armed Forces, the U.S. Space Force, Viasat and Northrop Grumman. The GEOStar-3 satellites provided for ASBM include the space vehicles and operating systems for power, propulsion, communications, command and data handling, thermal control and guidance and navigational control. Northrop Grumman is also providing the U.S. Space Force EPS-R payload and Control and Planning Segment ground system for this critical capability. The satellites will in addition carry an X-Band payload for the Norwegian Armed Forces, a Ka-Band payload for Viasat, and a Norwegian Radiation Monitor payload.

U.S. Space Force’s EPS-R is designed for secure military communications. Hosting EPS-R on ASBM satellites opens future opportunities to distribute payloads across hybrid government-commercial satellites, which increases resiliency and reduces costs while maintaining security requirements.

Source: Northrop Grumman

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In 2022, the DND/CAF sought innovative solutions to secure and monitor ground-based assets operating remotely in the Arctic. They needed physical protection of the assets against intruders and extreme weather, 24/7 monitoring for perimeter or power impacts, and real-time alerts of disruption or tampering of the assets.

As of March 2023, with the support of McQ’s advanced sensors, Barnacle completed production and testing of the BRNKL Arctic Deploy – an autonomous remote monitoring solution suitable for northern latitudes.

The BRNKL Arctic Deploy was developed as a portable solution that supports live video streaming, motion detection with computer vision, intruder detection using McQ Inc.’s rScene micro radar capable of vehicle and person classification, wired security sensors, connections to engines and generators, and an onboard 4TB solid state hard drive.

The system was able to transmit alerts and short video clips over the Iridium Certus satellite network using McQ CONNECT – a network already tested by multiple independent groups in latitudes over 80 degrees. For this trial, a 400W wind turbine was used, and would easily produce enough power to keep the system alive indefinitely. The system was fully autonomous in its ability to generate power and communicate all the alerts as designed.

“Barnacle has created an exceptional solution for remote security in the Arctic environment. McQ is excited to partner with Brandon and his team. We look forward to supporting Barnacle and its user community as these systems are deployed by the Canadian Armed Forces in the Arctic,” said Brian McQuiddy, CEO of McQ Inc.

Source: McQ Inc.

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The ArcticDEM and is a collection of digital elevation models at 2-meter resolution that covers the entire Arctic.

The addition of four more years of data is an increase of more than 50% compared to previous models. This data fills in all of the previous gaps to provide full coverage of the entire polar regions north of 60⁰N, including northern Canada, Scandinavia, Greenland, Alaska, Siberia and the Pan-Arctic.

A digital elevation model is a 3-D representation of a terrain’s surface, created from terrain elevation data. Analysis can be done on DEMs to determine or detect changes in topography over time, including the effects of climate change, which are amplified at the poles.

Reduced-resolution versions are available at 10 meters, 32 meters, 100 meters, 500 meters, and 1 kilometer for cartographic uses. ArcticDEM maps can be downloaded or accessed via the cloud from https://nga.maps.arcgis.com/home/index.html

Source: NGA

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Awarded as part of DND’s IDEaS program, this contract calls for Barnacle to evaluate and deliver both their new BRNKL Black sensor hub as a semi-portable integrated perimeter surveillance system and their BRNKL Rapid Deploy as a portable, rapidly-deployable security system.

The semi-portable solution, requiring more than one person to transport and deploy, integrates the BRNKL Black as a data logger, sensor processor, and user interface to fuse sensor data.

The overall goal of the project is to detect incoming intruders and monitor ground-station power systems to detect power outages. All events will be transmitted via Iridium satellite communications to a central command and control software platform that supports a mobile app and web application for viewing. Alerts can be sent to authorized users via push notifications or e-mail. Many of these ground-based assets are only accessible by snowmobile, horseback, or quad.

These innovations support those transport methods and allow the CAF to expand and enhance its reach in Canada’s North to support operations and exercises – something that can only be done when the assets are secured and optimized for use in the Arctic environment.

Source: McQ

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The SES GS solution leverages C-band technology, which is highly resilient to weather effects, and provides a dedicated reachback beam leveraging single hop connectivity directly to the user site. The SES GS solution also provides redundancy at all levels, to include antennas, uplink and downlink telemetry, ground infrastructure, and restoration capabilities. This award is an example of the company’s proven track record of providing reliable services in harsh climate conditions in the Arctic, while ensuring the mitigation of physical antenna degradation.

“We are proud to provide satellite communications support for this critical mission,” said President and CEO of SES Government Solutions, Brigadier General Pete Hoene, USAF (retired). “Thule Air Base is the Department of Defense’s northernmost installation, and this program continues to serve as a great example of the importance of our capability to deliver the critical intelligence data to military decision makers.”

SES GS has been the sole provider of commercial satellite communications to Thule Air Base for over 20 years. It has extensive experience overcoming the challenging conditions of operating in Arctic locations, including the extreme cold-weather environment, unpredictable weather patterns, near-horizon location, and logistical challenges.

SES operates the world’s only global satellite fleet of both geostationary and non-geostationary (NGSO) satellites, with expanded capabilities to be deployed in 2022 with the upcoming launch of the next-generation O3b mPOWER constellation.

Source: SES GS

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The public site, accessible through www.nga.mil and located at nga.maps.arcgis.com, includes Digital Elevation Models that provide 3D representations of the Arctic’s surface. The models, derived from NGA-sponsored DigitalGlobe commercial imagery sources, support land management, sustainable development, safe recreation, scientific studies, and domain-specific challenges inherent to aviation, transportation and defense. The DEM is the standard against which landscape changes such as erosion will be measured.

NGA’s Arctic website also includes NGA nautical charts, sailing directions, shape files and infographics. A large, downloadable Pan-Arctic map includes multiple layers that allow users to focus on specific issues and information. Layers include search and rescue zones, ice extents, economic exclusion zones, bathymetric data, navigational and meteorological warnings, and potential energy sources.

NGA is working with the National Science Foundation and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to support the Arctic initiative by producing and contributing publicly-available products and data layers as they become available. NGA’s work also supports the Department of Defense Arctic Strategy and the safety of navigation in the air and on the seas.

NGA’s Arctic website shares the publicly-available online platform with its Nepal and Ebola relief sites, using Esri ArcGIS platform, hosted by Amazon Web Services.

Source: NGA

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