ARTEMIS

For the latest information on ARTEMIS see the artemis launch web site

Carrying three payloads plus a number of experiments, the main objectives of ARTEMIS (Advanced Relay and Technology Mission Satellite) are testing and operating new telecommunications techniques.

In particular, ARTEMIS will explore advanced technology to transmit data directly from one satellite to another, both conventionally - using radio links - and in a revolutionary new way using laser beams.

At present, Earth observation satellites in low orbit like ERS must use on-board recording and global networks of ground stations to provide high-rate data links. But, as information requirements and the number of missions grow, this approach is becoming expensive, and in some situations technically unfeasible.

ARTEMIS therefore carries two payloads for communications directly between satellites, which receive data from low-Earth orbiting satellites and transmit them directly to Europe: a laser-optical relay terminal called SILEX, and a double-frequency S/Ka-band terminal called SKDR. ARTEMIS was launched on 12 July 2001.

Additionally an L-band land mobile payload allows two-way communications, via satellite, between fixed Earth stations and land mobiles - trucks, trains or cars - anywhere in Europe and North Africa.

Artemis coverage

High and low rate data, including recorder playback, can be received under the Artemis coverage, using the on-board Ka-band transmit terminal and data reception with the User Earth Terminal (UET) at ESRIN. The establishment of the link between the Envisat and Artemis satellites may require up to 3 minutes, due to the pointing and locking of the corresponding tracking antennas. This margin will have to be taken into account when analyzing the operation requests and planning the corresponding link operation.

Keywords: ESA European Space Agency - Agence spatiale europeenne, observation de la terre, earth observation, satellite remote sensing, teledetection, geophysique, altimetrie, radar, chimique atmospherique, geophysics, altimetry, radar, atmospheric chemistry