The Hydron Demonstration System

When it comes to our appetite for data there really is no limit and bottlenecks can occur even on the highest capacity terrestrial networks.

ESA’s high-throughput optical network, Hydron, intends to use optical (laser-based) communications infrastructure in space to relay petabytes of data for use on Earth, even in remote areas. This will complement existing radio frequency channels to enable highly advanced telecommunications capability.

In a first step towards this vision, ESA is partnering with European and Canadian industry to build the elements of a Hydron demonstrator system with terabit per second data transmission rates integrating terrestrial and non-terrestrial networks to extend internet capabilities into space.

These capabilities will place Europe at the forefront of optical telecommunications. The technical know-how for this will be built with the support of ESA’s Scylight programme.

This meets ESA’s goals to strengthen Europe’s use of space and security and supports commercialisation, as described in ESA’s Agenda 2025.