Space Systems Command has formally accepted the Control and Planning Segment, a single software baseline built to integrate the preexisting Enhanced Polar System and upcoming EPS-Recapitalization payloads.
The Northrop Grumman-manufactured CAPS will streamline segment command, control and planning across the two payloads and provide space-based connectivity to U.S. forces in the North Polar region, SSC said Thursday.
Managed by SSC’s Military Communications and Positioning, Navigation and Timing directorate, The EPS-R program will provide continuous satellite communications services in the region until the deployment of the next-generation Protected Tactical SATCOM system in the early 2030s.
Currently, the EPS delivers secured tactical extremely high frequency satcom across the area.
Northrop secured a $429 million contract in 2018 to develop and deliver a pair of EHF eXtended Data Rate payloads for the recapitalization program.
The EPS-R payloads will be hosted aboard Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission, which is scheduled to launch in 2024 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base.
