23/08/24 (Agence Europe) – The European Commission has welcomed the successful launch of Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ASBM) on Sunday 11 August. The satellites, carrying several payloads, will provide continuous broadband coverage to aircraft, ships, research vessels, fishing vessels, cruise ships, expeditions and troops operating in the Arctic, using a Highly Elliptical Orbit. The European Commission is a customer for data acquisition of the NORM (Norwegian Radiation Monitor) payloads, that will collect space radiation data along its orbit path, at altitudes ranging between 8,000 km and 43,000 km, benefiting future development of several components of the EU Space Programme, such as Galileo, EGNOS, Copernicus, SST and IRIS². The Commission recently gave a satisfactory assessment of the EU’s space programme (see EUROPE 13452/18). (LC)