DRTM
ESA's Data Relay and Technology Mission
(DRTM) has been divided into two principal
efforts: the Advanced Relay Technology Mission (ARTEMIS) and the aforementioned DRS.
ARTEMIS, whose launch has been delayed
until late 1997 at the earliest, will serve as a
pathfinder for DRS with three principal payloads:
- (1) Semiconductor Intersatellite Link Experiment (SILEX) optical terminal to demonstrate space-to-space links with the
French SPOT 4 spacecraft;
- (2) L-band transponder to provide land
mobile communications within Europe;
and
- (3) S-band (2 GHz) and Ka-band (23-28
GHz) data relay equipment for pre-DRS
experiments.
The spacecraft will also test two independent ion thruster systems for orbital maintenance over a potential 10-year life-span.
In 1993 Alenia Spazio was awarded the
prime contract for ARTEMIS which will be
based on the ITALSAT design with a mass of
2.6 metric tons, including 1.2 metric tons of propellant. The 3-axis-stabilized spacecraft will feature two elongated solar arrays with an end-of
life capacity of at least 2.8 kW. The
payload, with a mass of up to 550 kg, will
employ two 2.85-m-diameter and one 1.0-m
diameter antennas for the L-, S-, and Ka-band
transponders. A 1-m-diameter telescope will be
installed at the Teide Observatory, Tenerife, the
Canary Islands to support SILEX experiments.
Originally scheduled to fly on the second Ariane
5 mission in 1996, ARTEMIS has encountered
serious technical and cost problems, leading at
least one ESA member to consider abandoning
the project (References 12-22).
Alenia Spazio is also the proposed prime
contractor for DRS which has suffered a lack of
ESA Council support since its reaffirmation at
the November, 1991, ministerial meeting in
Granada. Through 1994 the detailed definition phase (Phase B2) for DRS was underway, but a move into the main development phase (Phase C/D) was delayed pending programmatic decisions. If fully approved in 1995, the first of two spacecraft might be launched as early as 1999 with payloads similar to ARTEMIS' SILEX and S-/Ka-band equipment. A full DRS constellation will consist of spacecraft stationed at 59 degrees E and 44 degrees W. ARTEMIS will join the DRS to support SPOT, ENVISAT, the International Space Station and other selected spacecraft, including military spacecraft (References 12-13, 23-29).
REFERENCES
12. ESA Annual Report 1993, ESA, 1994.
13. ESA Annual Report 1994, ESA, 1995.
14. "Alenia Nets Artemis Work in Milestone ESA Contract", Space News, 11 -17 October 1993, p. 13.
15. "Lasers in Space", Spaceflight, January 1994, p. 35.
16. "Optical Inter-Orbit Communications", Spaceflight, April 1995, pp.116-117.
17. "Laser Ground Station", Spaceflight, June 1994, p. 183.
18. P.B. de Selding, "Artemis Schedule Slip May Be Costly", Space News, 3-9 January 1994, pp. 1, 20.
19. P.B. de Selding, Massive Overrun Looms for Artemis", Space News, 12-18 June 1995, pp. 3, 37.
20. "BAe on ARTEMIS", Space, December 1992 - February 1993, p. 5.
21. P.B. de Selding, "Britain May Abandon Artemis", Space News, 19-25 June 1995, p. 8.
22. B.I. Edelson, et al, NASA/NSF Panel Report on Satellite Communications Systems and Technology, Vol. l, Analytical Chapters, July 1993, pp. 218-241.
23. B.I. Edelson, op. cit., pp. 241-250.
24. R. Riccitiello, "ESA Works to Improve Telecommunications", Space News, 27 April-3 May 1992, p. 6, 8.
25. "Future ESA Space Plan Agreed", Spaceflight, December 1992, p. 376.
26. R. Riccitiello, "MESA Goes Ahead With Data Relay Satellite Plans", Space News, 12-18 October 1992, p.1, 28.
27. C. Covault, "Europe Sets $26-Billion Space Program for 1990's", Aviation Week and Space Technology, 16 November 1992, p. 23-25.
28. "Newsmaker Forum", Space News, 22-28 February 1993, p. 22.
29. "Europe Seeks Military Funds for DRS System", Space News, 27 March - 2 April 1995, p. 2.
Sources and Resources
http://www.fas.org/spp/guide/europe/comm/drtm.htm
Implemented by Christina Lindborg, 1997 Scoville Fellow
Maintained by Robert Sherman
Originally created by John Pike
Updated Tuesday, July 1, 1997