SpaceDataHighway

The SpaceDataHighway system is the first-ever "heavenly fiber optic cable" created using the advanced laser technologies. On a geostationary earth orbit there is already the first relay station satellite EDRS-A which will head grouping of the satellites which are based over ground stations of observation. Daily it can transfer to the 40th terabyte of the data obtained from satellites of observation, the UAV and the piloted aircraft, with a speed of 1.8 Gbit/sec.

Relay station satellites are intended for capture of low earth orbit satellites using the laser and data collection which they received during the planet research. Then SpaceDataHighway from the geostationary earth orbit sends collected data to the European center on Earth. Thus, the relay station satellite acts as an intermediate link at data transmission. This process allows the satellites which are in lower orbits to transfer continuously obtained information instead of storing it until communication with a ground station. Thus, satellites can send more data for smaller time.

SpaceDataHighway is public-private partnership between the European Space Agency, Airbus, developer company of the laser Tesat-Spacecom systems and the German center of aircraft and astronautics (DLR). EDRS-A, the first relay station satellite of the SpaceDataHighway program, was put to a geostationary earth orbit in January, 2016 and provides a coverage from east coast of the USA to India. The second satellite will be launched in 2018. It will allow to double power and to expand a coverage and also to improve reservation of a system. Airbus is going to complement the SpaceDataHighway system with the third satellite, ERDS-D which will be located over the Pacific Rim.

After successful commissioning the SpaceDataHighway system under control of Airbus began in March, 2018 regular data transmission with the Sentinel-2A satellite. SpaceDataHighway obtains information from all four Sentinel satellites within the monitor program Copernicus. This event marks the beginning of a new era in area of space imagery.

The first two pairs of satellites – Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B and also Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-2B, joined the SpaceDataHighway system within the agreement between the European Union and the European Space Agency (organizers of the Copernicus program) and Airbus company which owns SpaceDataHighway and performs its commercial operation.

Since the beginning of system operation grouping of the Sentinel-1 satellites practically increased data transmission volumes by 50%. The service also offers additional benefits to users of the Sentinel-1 satellites as it provides more operational data transmission of observations of borders of Europe. It is especially important, so far as concerns monitoring of the remote areas, including sea, or at assessment of natural disasters for the quickest response.

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