The
SpaceDataHighway
is
Open
for
Traffic
Airbus
Defence
and
Space
starts
the
initial
service
of
its
SpaceDataHighway.
This
represents
a
step
change
in
the
speed
of
space
communications.
Ultra-broadband
laser
communications
and
the
geostationary
orbit
of
the
relay
satellites
combine
to
deliver
a
unique,
secure,
near
real
time
data
transfer
service,
-
making
data
latency
a
thing
of
the
past.
Thanks
to
the
laser
technology
developed
by
Tesat
Spacecom,
the
SpaceDataHighway
can
transfer
high-volume
data
from
Earth
observation
satellites,
airborne
platforms,
or
even
from
the
International
Space
Station
at a
data
rate
of
1.8
gbps
and
can
transmit
up
to
40
terabytes
per
day.
The
European
Commission’s
Earth
observation
satellites,
Copernicus
Sentinels
will
be
the
first
spacecrafts
to
benefit
from
those
next
generation
services.
“The
SpaceDataHighway
is
no
longer
science
fiction.
It
has
become
reality
and
will
revolutionise
satellite
communications.
The
SpaceDataHighway
will
completely
change
the
way
humanitarian
crises,
maritime
safety
and
the
protection
of
the
environment
can
be
managed”,
said
Evert
Dudok,
Head
of
the
Communications,
Intelligence
&
Security
(CIS)
business
line
at
Airbus
Defence
and
Space.
The
SpaceDataHighway
programme
is a
result
of a
public-private
partnership
(PPP)
between
the
European
Space
Agency
(ESA)
and
Airbus
Defence
and
Space.
The
German
national
aeronautics
and
space
research
centre
(DLR)
is
also
a
key
sponsor.
“As
the
first
commercial
data
relay
service
in
the
world
to
utilise
lasers,
the
EDRSSpaceDataHighway
represents
forward-thinking
innovation
at
its
best.
ESA
will
continue
working
with
our
partners,
Airbus
Defence
and
Space
and
the
European
Commission,
to
keep
pushing
the
envelope
of
technological
progress
by
extending
this
success
to
worldwide
coverage
with
GlobeNet”,
said
Magali
Vaissiere,
ESA’s
Director
of
Telecommunications
and
Integrated
Applications.
EDRS-A,
the
first
relay
satellite
for
the
SpaceDataHighway
programme
was
launched
on
30
January
2016.
Positioned
at
9°
East,
this
first
communication
node
offers
coverage
from
American
East
Coast
until
India.
A
second
satellite
will
be
launched
in
2017,
which
will
extend
the
coverage,
capacity
and
redundancy
of
the
system.
Airbus
Defence
and
Space
is
willing
to
expand
the
SpaceDataHighway
with
a
third
node,
EDRS-D,
to
be
positioned
over
the
Asia-Pacific
region.
This
third
node
will
be
the
next
step
towards
global
optical
fibre
in
the
sky.
EDRS-D
will
have
several
laser
terminals
performing
optical
bi-directional
links
in
order
to
serve
multiple
customers,
satellites
and
aircraft,
simultaneously.
It
will
also
be
able
to
transfer
data
to
another
relay
satellite,
in
order
to
relay
data
straight
back
to
the
other
side
of
the
globe
while
being
at
the
cutting-edge
of
security
standards.
