1 EDRS Operations at GSOC- relevant heritage and new

This paper will illustrate previous GSOC missions with relevance to the EDRS program along with challenges and preliminary solutions for the EDRS constellation. The EDRS network will include two communication payloads, one hosted on a dedicated spacecraft and one as piggy-back on a commercial satellite. EDRS is designed to reduce time delays in the transmission of large amounts of data and to allow faster access for the end users by using an optical Laser Communication Terminal (LCT) for the link between the LEO and the EDRS payload and a Ka-band link between the EDRS payload and the ground. DLR’s Operations Center (GSOC) role in the EDRS operations includes design, development and integration of ground infrastructure and operations of the satellites and ground stations. Two challenging new technologies will be integrated in order to provide faster data turnaround times and downlink capabilities of up to 1800 Mbit/s: use of Ka-Band in the downlink and optical data transfer between satellites, which this paper will concentrate on. GSOC already gained experience operating Laser Terminal in test scenarios on the TerraSAR spacecraft. This knowledge will be used to develop the EDRS operations concept. One major task is the planning of the laser connections and the required coordination between all parties. This paper will illustrate the development from the first activities at GSOC in connection with laser data transfer to a preliminary design of the operating system for the EDRS constellation. I