The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.
Find out more about space activities in our 23 Member States, and understand how ESA works together with their national agencies, institutions and organisations.
Exploring our Solar System and unlocking the secrets of the Universe
Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicEDRS-C is put through its paces at OHB System AG in Bremen, Germany, on 7 April.
EDRS-C is the second node of the European Data Relay System and first dedicated satellite to complement the infrastructure. It is the second satellite to be based on ESA and OHB’s SmallGEO platform.
The European Data Relay System is designed to transmit data between low Earth orbiting satellites and the EDRS payloads in geostationary orbit using innovative laser communication technology. By relaying their findings to Europe via EDRS, Earth-observing satellites can transmit their information to the ground in near-realtime as they gather it, instead of having to store it onboard until they travel over one of their own ground stations.