Thermal Vacuum Test Completed for EPS-R Polar Communication Project’s Flight One Payload

The thermal vacuum test of the Enhanced Polar System-Recapitalization program’s Flight One payload has been completed and demonstrated the satellite’s ability to survive the harsh conditions of a polar orbit.

The first EPS-R payload was delivered in June 2022, followed by a second delivery in November 2022. Both payloads are scheduled to fly aboard Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission to be launched on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Northrop Grumman built the EPS-R payload featuring extremely high-frequency extended data.

The SSC’s Military Communications & Positioning, Navigation and Timing directorate designed EPS-R as an extremely high-frequency military satellite communication system for U.S. forces in the Arctic. Expected to be operational in the 2030s, the system will serve arctic elements of the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security.

According to 2nd Lt. Clayton Lieberman, SSC EPS-R Payload Integration and Test Officer, the test’s completion demonstrates the highly collaborative partnership between SSC and Space Norway. The launches of EPS-R One and Flight Two payloads are scheduled for 2024, Space Systems Command said.