The European Space Agency (ESA) has taken its first step in deploying a high-speed data relay system in space. The European Data Relay System (EDRS) will use lasers to transfer data between satellites up to six times faster than equivalent, radio-based communications.

The first EDRS component has been placed onboard the commercial telecommunications satellite Eutelsat 9B. Weighing 53kg, the equipment is about the size of a microwave oven. Eutelsat 9B was launched on 29 January from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.

It will be able to transmit and receive data at a rate of up to 1.8 gigabits per second, which is about 10 times faster than fibre optic broadband on Earth.

The first satellites to use the system will be ESA’s Sentinels. These are Earth observation satellites that are constantly watching our planet. Currently, the images and data they gather can take up to several hours to be beamed back to Earth because they are not always in line with an antenna on the ground.

The advantage of EDRS is that it sits in a higher orbit, which enables it to be constantly in touch with a ground station, and much more visible to the lower orbiting Sentinels.

If an image is needed quickly because, for example, a natural disaster has taken place, data from the Sentinel can now be sent via EDRS. This reduces the waiting time from hours to minutes, which could be vital in directing relief efforts and saving lives.

A second EDRS payload, this time onboard a dedicated satellite, is scheduled for launch in 2017.