| Mission type | Data transmission |
|---|---|
| Operator | German Aerospace Center |
| Website | European Data Relay System |
TheEuropean Data Relay System (EDRS) system is a Europeanconstellation ofGEO satellites that relay information and databetween satellites, spacecraft,UAVs, and ground stations. The first components (a payload and dedicated GEO satellite) were launched in 2016 and 2019.
The designers intend the system to provide almost full-time communication, even with satellites inlow Earth orbit that often have reduced visibility from ground stations. It makes on-demand data available to, for example, rescue workers who want near-real-time satellite data of a crisis region.
There are a number of key services that will benefit from this system's infrastructure:
The system has been developed as part of theARTES 7 programme and is intended to be an independent, European satellite system that reduces time delays in the transmission of large quantities of data. The programme is similar to the AmericanTracking and Data Relay Satellite System that was set up to support the Space Shuttle—but EDRS is using a new generationLaser Communication Terminal (LCT) which carries data at a much largerbit rate: the laser terminal transmits 1.8 Gbit/s across 45,000 km (the distance of a LEO-GEO link),[1] while the TDRSS provides ground reception rates of 600 Mbit/s in theS-band and 800 Mbit/s in theKu- andKa-bands.[2]
Such a terminal was successfully tested in 2007/8 during in-orbit verification between the German radar satelliteTerraSAR-X and the AmericanNFIRE satellite, both in LEO, when it achieved 5.5 gigabits per second.[3] A similar LCT was installed on the commercial telecommunication satelliteAlphasat.[4]
EDRS infrastructure consists of two geostationary optical payloads and a Ka band payload, a ground system consisting of a satellite control centre, a mission and operations centre, a feeder link ground station (FLGS), and four data ground stations.
The first EDRS payload,EDRS-A, comprising a laser communication terminal and aKa band inter-satellite link, was placed on-boardEutelsat commercial telecommunication satellite, called Eutelsat 9B (COSPAR 2016-005A). The satellite was launched in January 2016 by aProton-M rocket and will be positioned at 9°E.[5][6]
A second EDRS payload was launched aboard a dedicated spacecraft. TheEDRS-C (COSPAR 2019-049A), which is also carrying a laser communication terminal, was launched on 6 August 2019[7][8] and will be positioned at 31°E.[1][9] The satellite also carries a payload meant for commercial communication satellite use, theHYLAS 3 payload. Thus the satellite is sometimes referred to asEDRS-C/HYLAS 3 or something similar.
The EDRS A and C form the initial corespace infrastructure that provides direct coverage for LEO satellites over Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, Asia, and the Poles. The initial plan was to develop two further spacecraft to complement the system from 2020 onwards, affording a complete coverage of the Earth and providing long-term system redundancy beyond 2030.
Theground segment of EDRS includes threeground receiving stations located at Weilheim, Germany, Redu, Belgium and Harwell, UK. The primeMission Operations Centre is in Ottobrunn, Germany, while a backup centre is installed in Redu, Belgium.[10]
The EDRS-A payload as well as the EDRS-C satellite are operated by the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) of theGerman Aerospace Center in Oberpfaffenhofen near Munich, Germany.
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The first users for EDRS were theSentinel-1 and -2 satellites of theCopernicus Programme (formerly the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security or GMES). The Sentinel satellites provide data for the operational provision of geo-information products and services throughout Europe and the globe. EDRS provides the data relay services for the Sentinel satellites since 2016, facilitating a rapid downlink of large volumes of data (including imagery, voice, and video).[11]
EDRS is being implemented as a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between theEuropean Space Agency (ESA) andAirbus Defence & Space (ADS, former Astrium).[12] ESA funds the infrastructure development and is the anchor customer through the Sentinel satellite missions. ADS will carry the overall responsibility for the implementation of the space segment including launch, as well as the ground segment. ADS will then[when?] take over ownership of EDRS and will provide the data transmission services to ESA and customers worldwide.[needs update]
As of May 2023[update], EDRS has over one million minutes of communications[11] with more than 75,000 successful inter-satellite links.[13][14][15]
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