Phys.org 1/23/2020
The second satellite in the European Data Relay System has reached its intended orbit and completed its in-orbit tests.
Dubbed the "SpaceDataHighway" by its commercial operator Airbus, EDRS uses innovative laser technology to enable Earth-observation satellites to deliver their information to users on the ground in near real-time, accelerating responses to emergency situations and spurring the development of new services and products.
EDRS-C is the second satellite in the system and was launched on 6 August.
After being delivered into its initial orbit by an Ariane 5 launcher, EDRS-C made its way to its final geostationary orbit 36,000 kilometers above Earth through five liquid apogee engine burns and a few relocation maneuvers.
It has been thoroughly tested to ensure that all its components are operating as expected.
The first satellite in the EDRS network, EDRS-A, was launched in January 2016.
Since then it has transmitted 1.7 petabytes of data, equivalent to binge watching almost 20 000 ultra high definition 4k films 24 hours a day for nearly four-and-a-half years.
More:
https://phys.org/news/2020-01-space-highway-satellite.html
