Kongsberg Satellite Services has signed a contract with the Orbimage company of Virginia in the USA for the downloading of data and the control of the OrbView-5 (Nextview 2) satellite. The contract has an initial value of MNOK 43. With options, it has a potential value of MNOK 199 over a 10-year period.
As a result of this contract, Kongsberg Satellite Services will be establishing TrollSat, a new receiving station for satellite data in the Antarctic. Subject to final approval by the Norwegian authorities, TrollSat will be established in conjunction with Troll, the Norwegian research base run by the Norwegian Polar Institute. The establishment of TrollSat will bring to fruition the 'pole-to-pole' concept, which is Kongsberg Satellite Services' plan for offering satellite-based services from the Antarctic as well as the Arctic (Svalbard). This means the company can increase the number of download opportunities from the satellites in polar orbit, meaning customers can get data/satellite imagery a lot more quickly. Kongsberg Satellite Services is jointly and equally owned by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace and the Norwegian Space Centre. Kongsberg Satellite Services has its headquarters and a receiving station for satellite data in Tromsø. The company also has a receiving station on Svalbard (SvalSat). In Tromsø, the company develops and sells services for weather, climate and environmental monitoring, in addition to services related to satellite control and data downloading.