Europe Launches Laser-Equipped Satellite To Monitor Natural Disasters

Europe launches the first part of a new space data highway that aims to provide faster monitoring of natural disasters such as floods and earthquakes.

The EDRS-A is the first node of the European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS) "big data" highway, according to the BBC News. The project is based on new laser communications technology is costing nearly 500 million euros ($545 million).

The EDRS-A node is installed on a Eutelsat communications satellite launched on board a Proton rocket from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, according to The Christian Science Monitor. The EDRS is a private-public joint venture between Airbus Defense and Space and the European Space Agency (ESA).

By pairing EDRS-A with the Eutelsat 9B satellite, both the European Space Agency and the satellite operator Eutelsat will cut down on costs as they share the expenses of the joint systems.

EDRS-A houses a laser terminal working like an autonomous telescope locking on to targets on Earth. The communication node will orbit Earth at an altitude of 36,000 kilometers (22,400 miles) and it will be able to send data between satellites or to and from Earth at a rate of 1.8 Gigabits per second. At this transmission speed, it would be possible to send in just one second all the data that could be printed in a one-meter long shelf of books.

The EDRS aims to improve transmission of large amounts of data, such as radar images and photographs, from satellites in orbit to Earth. This will allow satellites to communicate with the space centers without the need to wait for a ground station to come into view. The EDRS will relay data on floods, oil spills and sea ice from Europe's Copernicus Earth observation project to users in Atlantic area, Africa and Europe. Paying customers will also have access to its services.

In mid-2017, ESA will launch a second satellite, EDRS-C. Further ones are expected to follow. According to Yohann Leroy, Eutelsat's Chief Technical Officer, the agency is open to provide a future Eutelsat satellite for a third EDRS payload.