SpaceDataHighway: 10,000 successful laser connections – Reliability of 99.8 per cent

Date:

The services offered by the SpaceDataHighway enable users to transfer their data (imagery, video, voice…) from their Earth Observation satellites, UAVs, multi-mission aircraft by means of optical communication via the EDRS-A and EDRS-C geostationary satellites to receiving ground stations located in Europe.

Munich, May 18, 2018: The SpaceDataHighway system – the world’s first ‘optical fibre in the sky’ based on cutting-edge laser technology – has achieved 10,000 successful laser connections. The reliability rate has reached 99.8 percent, and during the first one and a half years of routine operations these successful connections have downloaded more than 500 terabytes of data.

ads

The system’s satellites are designed to lock on to low-orbiting satellites via laser and collect their data as they travel in low Earth orbit scanning the Earth. From its position in geostationary orbit, the SpaceDataHighway acts as a relay, transmitting the large quantities of data acquired by these observation satellites down to Earth in near-real time at a speed of 1.8 Gbit/s, instead of storing the data on board until the satellites pass over their own ground station.

The establishment of the laser connections is controlled by the SpaceDataHighway’s Mission Operation Centre which operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week at Airbus premises near Munich. Operators receive transmission requests from customers, programme the space and ground segment and monitor the performance of communications.

Hughes Boulnois, Head of the SpaceDataHighway programme at Airbus Defence and Space. “The total amount of data transferred is equivalent to around 100 million MP3 music files, but the transmission capacity of the SpaceDataHighway goes far beyond that.”

“While 2017 has been a year of ramp-up for the system, we have now reached more than 1,000 connections per month in 2018 with a very high level of reliability,” said.

Hughes Boulnois, Head of the SpaceDataHighway programme at Airbus Defence and Space. “The total amount of data transferred is equivalent to around 100 million MP3 music files, but the transmission capacity of the SpaceDataHighway goes far beyond that.”

big bang

Each day, the SpaceDataHighway is capable to relay up to 40 terabytes of data acquired by observation satellites, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or aircraft, to Earth. It is currently used by the European Union’s Copernicus programme, but its capacities could be used by many more customers.

In 2019, the system will also relay information from the Columbus module of the International Space Station (ISS). From 2020 the Pleiades Neo satellites will begin to use the SpaceDataHighway.

huges

The SpaceDataHighway is a public-private partnership between the European Space Agency and Airbus, which today owns and operates the system, with the laser communication terminals developed by Tesat-Spacecom and the DLR German Space Administration. EDRS-A, the first SpaceDataHighway relay satellite launched in 2016, offers coverage from the American East Coast to India. A second satellite, EDRS-C, will be launched in 2019. It will double the system’s capacity and extend the coverage and redundancy of the system. Airbus intends to expand the SpaceDataHighway with a third node, ERDS-D, to be positioned over the Asia-Pacific region.

More like this

India to Buy UK-made Thales Lightweight Multi-role Missiles

New Delhi: India agreed to buy multi-role missiles manufactured...

Indian Air Force to Receive First Tejas MK-1A by October End

New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set...

Boost to Aatmanirbharta in Defence: Goodluck India Commences Commercial Production of Artillery Shells

New Delhi: In a significant boost to India's 'Aatmanirbhar...

Strategic Partnership: India-Australia Sign Key Defence Agreements

New Delhi: India and Australia signed key defence agreements...

Cyprus Deploys IAI Developed Barak MX System to Fill Critical Air Defence Gaps

Tel Aviv: Cyprus has deployed the Israeli Barak MX...

Digital Steel: Transforming the Armoured Corps for Integrated Multidomain Wars

The Imperative for Doctrinal Transformation: India’s Armoured Corps faces...

BEL, CSIR-CEERI Ink MoU to Indigenously Develop Advanced Technologies Critical to Nation’s Defence

Bengaluru: Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a...

VTU Teams Up with QNu Labs to Build India’s Next Generation of Quantum Technology Experts

Bengaluru: During India Mobile Congress 2025 (IMC-2025), in a...
Indian Navy Special EditionLatest Issue