The race for Arctic dominance has entered space

In the years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the west has been forced to tackle the question of national defence with a renewed sense of urgency. As Cold War strategic planners appreciated in the last century, hostile forces can approach not just from underwater, land, sea and air, but also through space.

On 9 August in the US, Elon Musk’s Space X launched a Falcon 9 rocket from a space force base located in California. Dubbed the ‘Arctic satellite broadband mission’ (ASBM), the rocket itself was transporting two Northrop Grumman-built satellites, built for Space Norway in collaboration with the Norwegian Ministry of Defence and designed to orbit above the North Pole. Tilted at a steep angle relative to the Earth’s equator, the satellites’ highly elliptical orbit trajectory will enhance their ability to reach the remotest parts of the Northern Polar Region. ASBM will extend mobile broadband coverage in the Arctic region, making it easier both for military operators and civilian communities to communicate.