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December 27, 2006, Paris, France--Artemis, the European Space Agency Advanced Relay and Technology Mission Satellite, successfully relayed optical laser links from an aircraft earlier this month. These airborne laser links, established over a distance of 40,000 km during two flights at altitudes of 6,000 and 10,000 meters, represent a world first.

The relay was set up through six two-way optical links between a Mystère 20 aircraft equipped with the airborne laser optical link LOLA (Liaison Optique Laser Aéroportée) and the SILEX laser link payload on board ARTEMIS in its geostationary orbital position at 36,000 kilometres altitude: a feat equivalent to targeting a golf ball over the distance between Paris and Brussels.

These tests were made by EADS Astrium (Paris, France), the prime constructor for both LOLA and SILEX, as part of the airborne laser optical link programme conducted by the DGA (French MoD procurement agency) from its Flight Test Centre at Istres, in the south of France. The ESA ground station of Redu, Belgium, also contributed to this success by managing the Artemis SILEX payload operations.

For more information, contact the European Space Agency.

Wed Dec 27 10:58:00 CST 2006

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