SpaceX's Historic Launch of Arctic Satellite Mission
SpaceX's historic launch at Vandenberg Space Force Base deployed two satellites into Molniya orbit, enhancing Arctic broadband connectivity.
Last night, on a misty evening at Vandenberg Space Force Base, SpaceX made history by launching the Space Norway Arctic Satellite Broadband mission. Utilizing the obsolete Falcon 9 rocket, the military mission is intended to burn and drop two satellites into a specialized Molniya orbit, which will facilitate broadband usage in the Arctic areas. The satellites were assembled by Northrop Grumman and are part of the initiative of Inmarsat and the Norwegian Ministry of Defence. The operation was supposed to occur on July 15, 2024, though it was under a delay due to technical problems and eventually passed successfully on August 11-12, 2024.
As Mark Harris reports, this carrier vehicle happens to be the 22 viewing of the Falcon 9’s first stage booster. It has helped to carry such significant tasks as Crew-1 and Crew-2 and sieges of Starlink payloads. After these duties were done, the engine unit returned and landed safely on the droneship Of Course I Still Love You, cruising the Pacific Ocean. Also, this launch required the participation of the U.S. Air Force, which implemented Extremely High Frequency eXtended Data Rate payloads. Thus, this launch is a result of a military collaboration and should be considered more significant.
