Artist rendition of the EDRS constellation. Photo: Airbus

Airbus and SKY Perfect JSAT signed a cooperation agreement for the design preparation of the European Data Relay Satellite (EDRS)-D node. This third communication node of the SpaceDataHighway system is to be positioned over the Asia-Pacific region before 2025. EDRS-D aims to help increase the system’s communication capacity and considerably expand its coverage.

This agreement involves the co-financing of design and development studies for the satellite payload, as well as of the system as a whole, in addition to the marketing of the SpaceDataHighway service by SKY Perfect JSAT in Japan. With this agreement, the total amount of the investment in the extension of the SpaceDataHighway stands at nearly $17 million (15 million euros).

The future EDRS-D payload will consist of three next-generation laser communication terminals (LCT) to allow simultaneous communication with several satellites. The SpaceDataHighway is the world’s first optical fiber network in the sky, using laser technology. It will be a unique system of Geostationary Orbit (GEO) satellites permanently fixed over a network of ground stations, with the first – EDRS-A – already in space.