Imagine sending massive amounts of data across the globe in seconds, not through cables or crowded radio frequencies, but with lasers connecting satellites and ground stations. This is the vision behind Hydron, the high throughput digital and optical network, led by the European Space Agency (ESA). Hydron aims to establish a fully optical satellite communications network that will transform how data moves through space and back to Earth.
Hydron is ESA’s initiative to build a high-performance optical communications network in multiple orbits for future applications like 6G connectivity from space or resilience missions integrated seamlessly with terrestrial fibre-based implementations.
3
terabits per second
60
% growth expected by 2030 in satcom market
>10
European and Canadian companies collaborating
HydRON: Fibre in the sky
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ESA begins next phase of 'fibre in the sky' optical communications project with Canada
Actionable data from space could be delivered in seconds in the future, thanks to progress towards the European Space Agency’s (ESA) faster and more secure laser communications network, HydRON. At the 41st Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Canadian satellite communications company Kepler was awarded a contract to lead the next phase in the project’s evolution.
ESA's HydRON project for space-based optical communications moves forward
The European Space Agency (ESA) has jointly signed a contract with Thales Alenia Space to develop Element #2 of its High-throughput Optical Network (HydRON), an advanced laser-based satellite system that will transform the way we communicate in space. This phase will establish a satellite collector in low Earth orbit (LEO) which connects different orbital layers using optical technology.