The European “Space Data Highway” (also known as “EDRS”) system is the world’s first space “optical fiber” network based on advanced laser pointer technology. It is composed of geostationary orbit satellites, which are permanently fixed over the ground station network and can provide 1.8Gbps data relay services.
The high-orbit satellites of the “Space Data Highway” system can use lasers to connect low-orbit Earth observation satellites, intelligent drones, and various mission aircraft that are 45,000 kilometers apart. It can return and relay the data collected by the observation satellite in near real-time, and the process of relying on the observation satellite itself to return often takes several hours. In addition, it can increase the amount of data returned by the observation satellite by more than three times, and enables the observation satellite mission plan to be flexibly adjusted at any time, requiring only a few minutes.
It is reported that the second satellite of the “Space Data Highway” system, EDRS-C, will be launched on July 24 this year with an Ariane 5 rocket. The satellite will be positioned in the 31°E geostationary orbit over Europe. Once successfully launched, it will provide redundant backup for the “Space Data Highway” system, and can perform data relay with the original EDRS-A satellite at the same time to double the system capacity.
At present, EDRS-A satellites have provided daily earth observation image return services for the 4 earth observation satellites of the “Copernicus” project. Since the end of 2016, EDRS-A has completed 20,000 spatial green laser pointer connections, with a reliability of 99.5%, and successfully realized 1P byte data return.
In addition, EDRS-D, the third satellite of the “Space Data Highway”, is expected to be launched in 2024 and positioned over the Asia-Pacific region. The satellite will install 3 laser communication terminals, which will significantly increase the communication capacity of the system and expand the coverage area.