Third military satellite for the LDPE program reaches orbit

Northrop Grumman Corp's Long Duration Propulsive ESPA (LDPE)-3A spacecraft reached orbit on Sunday as part of the U.S. Space Force's USSF-67 mission. This marks the third successful launch in the LDPE program.

The LDPE-3A was built using Northrop Grumman’s ESPAStar. The ESPAStar system provides a modular, cost-effective way of carrying multiple experiments into space and deploying small satellites. Also known as a bus, ESPAStar carries hardware so five independent missions can be loaded aboard the satellite. This eliminates the need for each mission to wait for a future launch opportunity.

Northrop Grumman also designed, developed, and implemented the command and control, and mission execution software system for the LDPE program. The software system uses a common baseline across multiple programs, putting more capability in the hands of customer operators at a lower cost.

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch vehicle delivered LDPE-3A to near-geosynchronous Earth orbit for a one-year mission. The Falcon Heavy also carried the second Continuous Broadcast Augmenting SATCOM satellite into orbit with LDPE-3A.

USSF-67 is the third mission for the LDPE program. The Northrop Grumman-built LDPE-1 launched aboard the STP-3 mission in December 2021 and LDPE-2 aboard the USSF-44 mission in November 2022. Northrop Grumman will continue to deliver future ESPAStar spacecraft for future USSF missions.