Europe's satellite laser comms system set to shine

The European Space Agency (ESA) and Airbus Defence and Space are poised to launch the first orbiting component of the European Data Relay System (EDRS), aka the "SpaceDataHighway", described as "the most sophisticated laser communication network ever designed". On 27 January, the EDRS-A node will lift off from Baikonur Cosmodrome atop a Russian Proton rocket. In 2017, it'll be followed by the EDRS-C satellite, which will be carried aloft by a Ariane 5 from Kourou, French Guiana. Once up and running, the two geostationary (GEO) nodes over Europe will receive data from other Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites via laser links and beam it earthwards to ground stations at rates up to 1,800 Mbit/s. More

(Source: The Register - Jan 21)