The Northrop Grumman-built ASBM-1 and ASBM-2 satellites at the company’s satellite manufacturing facility in Dulles, Virginia. Photo: Northrop Grumman

Viasat’s GX10A and GX10B satellite payloads onboard a pair of Arctic satellites in a shared satellite mission are now available, Viasat announced Monday. 

GX10A and GX10B are housed on Space Norway’s Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission (ABSM) spacecraft — ASBM-1 and ASBM-2. The mission, launched in August last year, is a unique partnership between international commercial and government partners. The satellites, which are in Highly Elliptical Orbits (HEO) also host payloads for the U.S. Space Force. 

These new payloads add dedicated Arctic capacity to Viasat’s Global Xpress network. Viasat successfully completed in-orbit testing of the payloads late last year and government services are now available. Viasat expects commercial maritime and aviation services to follow throughout fiscal year 2026. Services are compatible with current and future GX terminals. 

“We’re excited to begin delivering services in the Arctic region to support scientific research and enable assured, resilient communications for tactical and strategic government missions. This is another step in Viasat’s ability to provide innovative, multi-orbit solutions and services to meet the changing connectivity requirements of government customers worldwide,” commented Viasat Government President Susan Miller.’’