PARIS - Following intense work during the past few weeks between all partners involved with the European Data Relay System (EDRS) program - in particular the European Commission, ESA and Airbus - the business prospects of EDRS have been strengthened. Because of the work, ESA has announced that it now fully intends to deploy the entire EDRS network.

A meeting is now planned for January 28 between ESA and Airbus to decide how to proceed with the completion of the EDRS program.

EDRS is a network of geosynchronous satellites and ground stations designed to reduce time delays when transmitting large quantities of data from space. The system will be especially important to implementing the Copernicus program that will see a number of remote sensing satellites launched into orbit. The Sentinel satellites under the Copernicus program will send large amounts of data back to Earth.

While the EDRS program will be important to ESA missions, it is being funded as a public-private partnership (PPP), meaning there needs to be a business case for the satellites as well. Earlier this month reports indicated that the third EDRS satellite, EDRS-C, may not be funded because revenue and cash flow would not be enough to make up for the cost of the satellite. EDRS-C would be operated privately by Airbus under agreement with ESA. The satellite will also carry a hosted payload for Avanti Communications.

While ESA does not indicate specifically how the business prospects for the program have improved, the agreement between ESA and Airbus will enable the program to move forward. EDRS-C will be built. A launch date has not been specified, but it will likely be after the first two EDRS payloads lift off in 2015 and 2016.

Source: ESA
Associated URL: http://www.esa.int/For_Media/Press_Releases/ESA_and_Airbus_to_decide_on_the_route_to_proceed_with_EDRS_completion
Author: B. Ostrove, Analyst