GomSpace has signed a contract to develop and deliver a smallsat to the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) — this contract is worth 19 MSEK.
The satellite will demonstrate military tactical communications on the UHF band from a polar Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The primary mission objective is to demonstrate the military use and relevance of an Arctic satellite relay for tactical communication radios.
Another objective is to demonstrate that such a capability can be made operational in within 2 years from project start and less than 18 months after signing this contract. Launch is planned to October 2021.
Niels Buus, CEO of GomSpace, said the firm is thrilled to engage in this project with FFI that will use the full range of GomSpace capabilities to deliver the platform as well as be deeply involved in the payload development, the launch and early operations and the company will be supporting the mission operations.
Lars Erling Bråten, Principal Scientist at FFI, added that to carry out this project on the fast track is an important goal of the project, with the long-term objective to establish an operational system that can provide this kind of SATCOM capability in the Arctic region.
