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A German-built satellite designed to relay data between other orbiting spacecraft and ground stations using laser beams is set for launch in tandem with an Intelsat communications craft Tuesday from Kourou, French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 5 rocket.

The second node in the European Data Relay System, or EDRS, network is set for launch at 1930 GMT (3:30 p.m. EDT) Tuesday from the Guiana Space Center. The spacecraft, named EDRS C, will ride into orbit with the Intelsat 39 commercial communications satellite.

EDRS C will join the EDRS A node in geostationary orbit more than 22,000 miles (nearly 36,000 kilometers) over the equator. EDRS A is a hosted laser relay package on the commercial Eutelsat 9B communications satellite, which launched in 2016.

The EDRS network relays data and imagery from satellites in lower orbits, including the European Sentinel Earth observation fleet.

The EDRS system is similar to NASA’s Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, or TDRS, network, which began operations in the 1980s to close communications coverage gaps for spacecraft passing between ground stations. But unlike the U.S. system, the European data relay satellites carry laser communications links to enable super-fast transfers of information and imagery.

The EDRS network can transmit up to 40 terabytes of data per day, at a rate of 1.8 gigabits per second.

The European Commission’s Sentinel 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B Earth-imaging satellites are the anchor users of the European data relay system, which was developed in a public-private partnership between the European Space Agency and Airbus.

A new European laser terminal will launch to the International Space Station on a SpaceX resupply ship next year to be attached outside the station’s Columbus module. The arrival of the laser system will enable the EDRS network to connect with the space station, opening the door for faster data links for experiments hosted on the orbiting research complex.

Airbus owns and operates the EDRS nodes in orbit, and sells access to the network — which it calls the “SpaceDataHighway” — on the commercial market. The EDRS control center is located in Ottobrunn, Germany.

“ESA is investing a chunk of money, and Airbus is putting some money on the table as well,” said Michael Witting, ESA’s EDRS project manager. “The logic behind it is ESA has covered most of the technical risks in the development phase, and Airbus has invested money, and they, in a sense, cover the market risk.”

Airbus’s four high-resolution Pléiades Neo optical reconnaissance satellites — the first two of which could launch in 2020 — will also link up with the EDRS network to transmit Earth imagery to the ground at high data rates.

The Eutelsat 9B satellite hosting the EDRS A payload is parked at 9 degrees east longitude in geostationary orbit, and EDRS C is heading for a position at 31 degrees east.

EDRS also hosts a commercial Ka-band communications package for the British company Avanti, which calls its payload Hylas 3.

Airbus announced earlier this year a cooperation agreement the SKY Perfect JSAT, a Japanese communications satellite operator, to co-finance design and development studies for a third EDRS node over the Asia-Pacific for launch before 2025.

The 7,023-pound (3,186-kilogram) EDRS C spacecraft was built by OHB in Bremen, Germany. The 14,550-pound (6.6-metric ton) Intelsat 39 communications satellite will join EDRS for the ride into space Tuesday.

An Ariane 5 rocket, operated by the French company Arianespace, will lift the two satellites into a highly elliptical, equatorial geostationary transfer orbit stretching 22,236 miles (35,786 kilometers) above Earth about a half-hour after liftoff.

The launch window for the Ariane 5 rocket extends until 2151 GMT (5:51 p.m. EDT) Tuesday.

Arianespace delayed the Ariane 5 mission from July 24 to clear the launcher of any faults related to the failure of a European Vega rocket July 10. The Vega rocket is a light-class launch vehicle — much smaller than the Ariane 5 — but the Avio, the Vega’s prime contractor in Italy, also supplies components for the Ariane 5’s two solid rocket boosters.

During a launch readiness review Friday, Arianespace officials approved the mission for launch Tuesday. The Ariane 5 rolled out of its final assembly building Monday at the spaceport in South America for the 1.7-mile (2.7-kilometer) trip to the ELA-3 launch zone along dual rail tracks.

Countdown preps began early Tuesday, and Arianespace teams will oversee the loading of super-cold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the two-stage Ariane 5 in the final hours before liftoff.

The mission launching Tuesday will mark the 105th flight of an Ariane 5 rocket since 1996, and the third Ariane 5 flight this year.

The Ariane 5 launcher will deploy the Intelsat 39 spacecraft, which is riding in the upper position inside the rocket’s fairing, at Plus+29 minutes, 9 seconds. After jettisoning a Sylda dual-payload adapter, the Ariane 5’s upper stage will release the EDRS C satellite at Plus+33 minutes, 31 seconds.

The two payloads will use their own engines to maneuver from the Ariane 5’s elliptical drop-off orbit into a circular geostationary orbit, where their movement around Earth will match the rate of the planet’s rotation.

Built by Maxar Technologies, Intelsat 39 will park itself over the equator at 62 degrees east longitude to begin a 15-year mission providing C-band and Ku-band services across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Intelsat 39 will replace the aging Intelsat 902 satellite at the 62 degrees east orbital location. Intelsat 902 launched on top of an Ariane 4 rocket from French Guiana in 2001.

Officials said Intelsat 39 will provide video and broadband services from its perch high above the equator. The new Intelsat spacecraft will also provide connectivity for airplanes and ships traveling in the Indian Ocean region.

Myanmar’s Ministry of Transport and Communications will be one of the main users of Intelsat 39’s capacity. Intelsat announced last year the the ministry signed a multi-year, multi-transponder agreement to use Intelsat 39 to provide broadband Internet services to government agencies, businesses and communities throughout Myanmar. </s> On Aug. 6, 2019, Arianespace used an Ariane 5 rocket to launch two new communications satellites into orbit on a rideshare mission: Intelsat 39 and the first European Data Relay Satellite, EDRS-C. See photos of the mission here!

An Ariane 5 rocket designated VA249 launches the Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C communications satellites into orbit on Aug. 6, 2019.

A long-distance shot of the launch shows the Ariane 5 rocket leaving a trail of smoke as it takes to the skies.

Up, up and away! The Ariane 5 rocket rides a pillar of flames and smoke into the sky after lifting off from the Guiana Space Center.

The Ariane 5 rocket completed a planned roll maneuver on its way to space. The roll began 17 seconds after liftoff and lasted 15 seconds.

After the Ariane 5 rocket's two side boosters separated, they could be seen falling to Earth while the rocket's upper stage continued into orbit.

The payload fairing that provided a protective shell for the two satellites during the launch was jettisoned 2 minutes and 21 seconds after liftoff. Here, you can see the fairing falling back to Earth in a screenshot from Arianespace's webcast of the mission.

The Ariane 5 rocket rolls out to launch zone ELA-3 at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana, on Aug. 5, 2019.

The EDRS-C satellite is loaded with propellant at the Guiana Spaceport's payload preparation facility.

In Ottobrunn, Germany, the European Space Agency's laser satellite EDRS-C undergoes final testing at Airbus Defence & Space before being shipped to the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana.

Intelsat 39 undergoes testing at the Maxar Technologies manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California, where it was built.

EDRS-C, the second satellite to join the European Data Relay System (EDRS) constellation, is mated with its launch vehicle at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

The spacecraft fairing containing Intelsat 39 is ready for installation atop the Ariane 5 rocket. </s> The new European Data Relay System (EDRS) was launched into the atmosphere atop a rocket by the European Space Agency (ESA) from French Guiana on Tuesday.

The EDRS aims to create what has been called the "Space Data Highway" — a high-speed network that can transfer optical data from satellites to Earth in near-real-time.

This system was sent into the skies on an Ariane 5 rocket.

It is the most sophisticated laser communication network ever designed, said the ESA. </s> The European Space Agency (ESA) has successfully launched its newest satellite into orbit from Europe's Space Port in Kourou, French Guiana.

It is the second satellite launched to join a constellation that forms the European Data Relay System (EDRS), which enables users to observe the Earth almost in real-time, helping to accelerate response times in emergencies.

It will take up position above Europe's low-Earth orbiting observation satellites, enabling the overall constellation to maintain an almost constant connection. Previously, these low orbiting satellites could only transmit information when in direct line-of-sight with their ground stations, which could lead to delays of up to 90 minutes in the transfer of images.

However, the new EDRS satellites can beam information back to Earth in almost real-time, which could prove pivotal during disaster recovery and extreme weather events.

The latest satellite was launched by the Ariane 5 heavy launcher rocket. The Ariane-generation spacecraft has long been the workhorse for Europe in the global space race, launching missions for over 30 years.

The ESA, which was created in 1975, has 22 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Slovenia is an Associate Member.

The organisation develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed for Europe's participation in global space activities. It is working in particular with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes as well as with Eumetsat for the development of meteorological missions. </s> An Ariane 5 rocket will launch tonight (August 6) with Airbus, Intelsat and European Space Agency (ESA) cargo onboard. The rocket launch marks the third flight fo the Ariane 5 this year – the signature launch vehicle of the Europe-based company Arianespace. The Ariane 5 will carry two communication satellites dubbed Intelsat 39 and EDRS-C respectively. The launch window opens tonight from 8.30pm to 10.51pm BST (9.30pm to 11.51pm CEST).

How to watch the Ariane 5 rocket launch live stream: You can watch the rocket launch in full tonight, courtesy of Arianespace. The rocket company will broadcast the event live from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. The live stream is embedded in the YouTube video player below. The mission is expected to last around 33 minutes and 31 seconds from liftoff to satellite separation. READ MORE: How does SpaceX’s Starship compare to NASA powerful Saturn V?

What is the cargo for the Ariane 5 launch tonight? Two communication satellites will blast off into space tonight from French Guiana. The first is an Intelsat 39, which is the 61st satellite launched for Intelsat by Arianespace. Arianespace first began launching these satellites for Intelsat in 1983. Tonight’s launch will replace an Intelsat 902 satellite that was launched into space in 2001.

Arianespace said: “The Intelsat 39 telecommunication satellite is designed with both wide and high-powered steerable spot beams to meet the needs of broadband networking, video and government customers across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Indian Ocean region. “The steerable spot beams provide flexibility within the payload and enable customers to rapidly and efficiently respond to shifts in geographic or application requirements.” The satellite is designed to beam internet services and mobile networks to ground. The Intelsat was built in Palo Alto, California, by the company Maxar.

The second satellite, the EDRS-C, will join the SpaceDataHighway network. The SpaceDataHighway is touted as the world’s first “optical fibre” network up in the skies. Based on “cutting-edge laser technology”, the SpaceDataHighway is a network of geostationary satellites capable of transmitting data at fast speeds. The satellite will aid in disaster response, security management and environmental monitoring. </s> Image copyright ESA Image caption The system will now comprise two nodes in the sky - with a third to follow before 2025

Europe has launched the second satellite in its space laser telecommunications network.

It will use optical beams to pull pictures and data from other spacecraft and then speed that information to the ground.

EDRS-C, as it is known, was sent into orbit on Tuesday by an Ariane-5 rocket from the Kourou spaceport in French Guiana.

It joins the first node in the network, EDRS-A, which was put up in 2016.

That spacecraft was positioned over Central Africa to service Europe.

The new satellite will sit slightly to the east, where it will provide additional capacity.

The European Data Relay System is a joint venture between the European Space Agency and aerospace giant Airbus.

It is used predominantly by the European Union's Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 Earth observation spacecraft. These platforms take images of the planet's surface.

Image copyright Copernicus Data/Esa/Sentinel-2 Image caption Rapid retrieval of space images is important for emergency response

Ordinarily, such satellites would have to wait until they pass over a radio receiving dish on the ground before downloading their pictures, which could mean a delay of over an hour as they circle the globe.

But the Sentinels were equipped to connect with the EDRS satellites' 1.8-gigabit laser links.

The relay platforms orbit much higher in the sky - some 36,000km in altitude - and always have visibility of a radio antenna on the ground.

The capability has particular relevance in the realm of natural disasters, such as major floods or big earthquakes.

Information about the scale of these emergencies can be put in the hands of first responders much faster than would normally be the case.

"We have demonstrated that it's possible to get a Sentinel image on the ground and ready to use after just 15 minutes of it being acquired," Magali Vaissiere, the director of telecoms at Esa, told BBC News.

"The launch of EDRS-C brings additional capacity to the network, obviously, but it also provides redundancy, a back-up, which you need in an operational system."

Between a third and a half of all image data from Sentinels 1 and 2 is now routed through EDRS, and usage is certain to expand with the second node now in orbit.

Image copyright ESA Image caption EDRS-C undergoing testing during its development

There are plans to use the relay system to regularly pull data to the ground from the European Columbus science laboratory on the space station. Future Earth observation satellites are also actively being planned with EDRS in mind, including the EU's next batch of Sentinels and Airbus's Pléiades Neo satellites which will take Earth images at 30cm resolution. Airbus says airborne reconnaissance could make use of the laser links, too.

A third node, EDRS-D, should be launched over the Asia-Pacific region before 2025.

Esa wants to see optical technology play a much bigger role in space communications.

Telecoms satellites that rely solely on radio frequency transmissions are being left behind by the performance of terrestrial fibre networks.

In time, this is going to put significant constraints on applications that include TV broadcasting and the services carrying the messages of connected devices (the so-called Internet of Things).

It is why the space agency will propose to Europe's research ministers in November that they fund the R&D necessary to break the "bottleneck in the sky".

Esa's High Throughput Optical Network (HyDRON) project envisages laser links, not just between satellites but between spacecraft and the ground.

This brings certain challenges, including the issue of how to manage light transmissions through a turbulent - and often cloudy - atmosphere.

However, if the technologies can be mastered they should permit terabit-per-second connections.

"We have shown with EDRS that we have some leadership in Europe in these technologies, and one of the strategic lines we have defined for [the ministerial meeting] will be dedicated to optical uses so that we strengthen that leadership," the Esa telecoms director said.

The 3-tonne EDRS-C satellite also hosts a Ka-band radio frequency payload for the London-based Avanti telecommunications company.

Avanti calls the payload Hylas-3 and will be using it to deliver broadband and other data services to markets in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Jonathan.Amos-INTERNET@bbc.co.uk and follow me on Twitter: @BBCAmos </s> Arianespace has successfully launched the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Aeolus satellite, as it prepares for the arrival of Vega C next year.

To read this article, go to Air & Cosmos International. </s> A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Es'Hail-2 communications satellite launches into space from Pad 39A of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida on Nov. 15, 2018. SpaceX will reuse this rocket's first stage for the Amos-17 mission on Aug. 6.

Today (Aug. 6) is going to be a big day in space!

After a Cygnus cargo spacecraft departs the International Space Station this afternoon, SpaceX and Arianespace will be launching a total of three new communications satellites into orbit. You can watch all three events live here at Space.com. 



First up: Cygnus undocking (12:15 p.m. ET)

First, the Cygnus cargo ship will undock from the space station at 12:15 p.m. EDT (1615 GMT). NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch will use the station's Canadarm2 robotic arm to release the vessel into the vacuum of space. NASA TV will provide live coverage of the send-off beginning 15 minutes prior to its departure.

The Cygnus arrived at the space station in April with 7,600 lbs. (3,447 kilograms) of supplies and experiments for the astronauts on board. Instead of heading straight toward Earth to burn up in the atmosphere, as departing cargo ships typically do, this Cygnus will stay in orbit for a few months to test a new cubesat-deploying contraption called "SlingShot."

Above is a video of the last time a Cygnus spacecraft returned to Earth. 



Next, the European launch provider Arianespace will launch two communications satellites on an Ariane 5 rocket. It will lift off from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT). This will be the first launch for Arianespace since the company's Vega rocket experienced a launch failure in July.

For this mission, Arianespace is launching the Intelsat 39 telecommunications satellite, which will serve "broadband networking, video and government customers across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Indian Ocean region," according to Arianespace's description of the mission.

The second satellite, named EDRS-C, will be the second satellite of the "SpaceDataHighway" — also known as the European Data Relay System — and will provide high-speed laser communications between satellites in low Earth orbit and ground tracking stations down on Earth. It will enable near-real-time processing of images and data from various Earth-observing satellites.

A live webcast of this launch will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff. You can watch it here on Space.com, courtesy of Arianespace, or directly via the company's YouTube.

This launch window is open until 5:51 p.m. EDT (2151 GMT). The Intelsat 29 satellite is expected to deploy 29 minutes after liftoff, and EDRS-C will follow just 4 minutes later. 



Last but not least, SpaceX will launch a Falcon 9 rocket with the Amos-17 satellite. Amos-17 is a communications satellite built by Boeing for Spacecom Ltd. of Israel, and it will provide broadband connectivity over Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

The Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station during a 1-hour, 28-minute launch window that opens at 6:52 p.m. EDT (2252 GMT). The mission was delayed from last week after SpaceX discovered a valve issue with the Falcon 9.

You can watch the live webcast here on Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company's YouTube.



Email Hanneke Weitering at hweitering@space.com or follow her @hannekescience. Follow us on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook. </s> Arianespace marked another mission accomplished for the Earth’s sustainable development as its light-lift Vega vehicle successfully orbited Europe’s Aeolus – the first satellite designed to profile wind profiles on a global scale.

Lifting off from the Spaceport’s Vega Launch Complex at 6:20:09 p.m. local time in French Guiana – the planned precise moment of launch – Vega lofted its passenger during a flight lasting just under 55 minutes, with Aeolus placed into a Sun-synchronous orbit.

Built by Airbus Defence and Space, the satellite carries a laser Doppler wind LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) system called Aladin that will probe the lowermost 30 km. of the atmosphere in measuring winds around the Earth.

The LIDAR’s near-real-time observations will provide reliable wind profiles, further improving the accuracy of numerical weather and climate prediction, as well as advance the understanding of tropical dynamics and processes relevant to climate variability.

In post-launch comments from the Spaceport, Arianespace CEO Stéphane Israël congratulated this mission’s customer – the European Space Agency (ESA) – and underscored his company’s continuing contributions to space research and science at the service of such institutions.

“Ensuring reliable and independent access to space for Europe is our no. 1 mission,” he added. “It would not be possible without the long-term partnership we have with ESA.”

Aeolus marked the milestone 50th mission – and the eighth dedicated to Earth observation – performed by Arianespace for ESA. It is one of the agency’s Earth Explorer missions, which address key scientific challenges identified by the science community and demonstrate breakthrough technology in observing techniques.

Marking another milestone, Aeolus also is the 120th Airbus-produced spacecraft launched by Arianespace, with 20 more still in the company’s order book.

Designated Flight VV12, today’s mission was Vega’s 12th since entering service in 2012 (all of which have been successful), and it further demonstrated the capabilities of a light-lift vehicle that completes Arianespace’s launcher family – joining the company’s medium-lift Soyuz and heavyweight Ariane 5 in reliable side-by-side operations from the Spaceport in French Guiana. Vega is provided to Arianespace by Italy’s Avio, which is the industrial prime contractor.

The 12 successful missions performed to date by Vega were for both institutional customers and commercial export customers, confirming the launcher’s operational capabilities as well as its adaptability.

Flight VV12 was Arianespace’s fifth mission in 2018, and the company’s first this year using Vega. Next up in the company’s manifest is the milestone 100th launch of a workhorse Ariane 5, which will orbit the Horizons 3e and Azerspace-2/Intelsat-38 commercial telecommunications satellites in September.
The European Space Agency successfully launches the German Aerospace Center-operated EDRS-C laser communication satellite on a Ariane 5 from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.