EDRS-C – The second node of the European Data Relay System is in orbit

Abstract

The second node of the laser-based European Data Relay System (EDRS-C) was successfully launched on 6th August 2019. The EDRS-C satellite, developed, manufactured and tested by OHB System AG as prime contractor, has been procured in the frame of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between the European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus Defence and Space (ADS). The primary objective of the EDRS mission is to provide a data relay service to low-Earth-orbit satellites from geostationary orbit by means of optical and radio-frequency bands. A constellation of geostationary satellites will be linked to a network of ground stations and, using innovative laser communication technology, will receive data from Earth observation satellites from lower orbits and relay it to ground stations in Europe, in near real-time and at a rate of 1.8 Gbit/s. The geostationary EDRS-C satellite features laser communication terminal that significantly differentiates it from conventional telecom satellites. Laser Communication Terminal (LCT) was designed and manufactured by TESAT Spacecom. EDRS-C has been developed on the basis of the SmallGEO platform. In order to accommodate the LCT, adaptations to the existing platform design had been required, which implied a consolidation of the existing platform design, an extension of its competitiveness with reference to the application of optical payloads, and an important milestone in the development and industrialization of the generic SmallGEO platform product line. This paper presents the main design adaptations performed on the SmallGEO platform in order to provide the LCT with an environment that guarantees its full performances. Some selected assembly, integration and test matters specific to optical payloads, and in particular to an LCT, are summarized as well in this paper.