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Funding
This page displays the ARTES Invitation To Tenders (ITTs) which are published on ESA-STAR. If you are looking for a specific element select from the list provided and click on the Apply button to start the search and display the results.
Funding of the individual Prime or subcontractors, for ARTES Core Competitiveness and ARTES Applications activities, is subject to authorisation of the required ARTES budget by the related National Delegations. Therefore, bidding teams are requested to inform their National Delegation(s) of their intention to participate in funded activities already before submitting a proposal.
The official information platform for providing potential bidders all the relevant documentation and details concerning the intended and issued Invitations To Tender (ITTs) for Open Competitions and Direct Negotiations is ESA-STAR - managed and operated by the ESA Procurement Department.
BEAMFORMING BASED ON LOW-RESOLUTION, LOW POWER CONSUMPTION ANALOGUE TO DIGITAL CONVERTERS (ARTES AT 5C.512) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop a beamforming concept based on low resolution and low power consumption Components of The Shelf (COTS) Analogue-to-Digital Converters (ADC). The developed concept will be implemented and tested in a combined software and hardware testbed. Targeted improvements: Improved energy efficiency by >50% thanks to the use of low resolution and low power ADC when compared to 10-12 bit resolution ADCs. Descr…
MULTICAST OPTICAL HEAD UNIT (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5G.037)
Objective:The objective of the activity is to develop a space-based point to multipoint optical terminal.Targeted Improvements:The MOHU would reduce the number of required Optical Head Units by a factor greater than 2. The MOHU should target a mass and sizeless than x1.5 the mass and size of the combined individual Optical Head Units.Description:Today the implementation of simultaneous optical space to ground links (Optical Feeder Links) requi…
MACHINE LEARNING TECHNIQUES FOR DATA RATE REDUCTION (ARTES AT 7B.079)
The objective of this activity is to design, implement and test Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) based data rate reduction techniques for ground terminals. A testbed will be developed to assess performance savings in terms of throughput, complexity and power consumption.Targeted Improvements: Decrease the transmitted data rate by at least 40% for specific applicationsDescription: Many types of data transmissions and recep…
OPTIMISED VIRTUAL PRIVATE NETWORKS FOR CONSTELLATIONS (LEO, MEO, OR MULTI-ORBIT) AND GEO SPACE NETWORKS ( ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.031)
The objectives of this activity are to design, develop and test techniques enabling integration of existing and new VPN solutions suitable for space networks (LEO constellation, MEO constellation or GEO) for the purpose of comparison, performance evaluation and optimisation, while maintaining compatibility with terrestrial networks.
NUTATION BASED FINE TRACKING SYSTEM FOR SPACE OPTICAL COMMUNICATION TERMINALS (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5F.049)
Objective: The objective of the activity is to develop a fine tracking system with reduced complexity and size. The fine tracking of optical communication terminals shall be based on Rx-fibre or Rxbeam nutation for probing the point spread function at the focal plane and will replace the need for a tracking sensor. Targeted Improvements: Reduce the size weight, power and cost of space opticalcommunication terminals by 30%. Description: Nutatio…
ARTES 4.0 SPL OPTICAL COMMUNICATION - SCYLIGHT: SPACE QUALIFIED FAINT PULSE LASER SOURCE FOR QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION (5G.003/SL.012)(ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
Objective:The objective of the activity is to develop and qualify a faint pulse laser source for space-based quantum key distribution systems.Targeted Improvements:Increase the technical readiness level of faint pulse laser sources suitable for quantum key distribution applications from 5 to 7. Description:Quantum key distribution systems using protocols based on faint laser pulses require a photon source emitting less than one photon per puls…
IN-ORBIT EXPERIMENT OF HIGH-PERFORMANCE DATA TRANSPORT, SWITCHING AND PROCESSING TECHNOLOGIES FOR TELECOM APPLICATIONS IN LOW EARTH ORBIT (ARTES AT 3E.017) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is to design, develop and perform an in-orbit experiment of high-performance data transport, switching and processing technologies consisting of several key building blocks like processors, mass memory, switches and optical interconnects, allowing a data throughput of up to 10 Terabit per second to enable future high performance telecommunication applications. Targeted Improvements: Improvement by a factor of two…
IN-ORBIT EXPERIMENT OF A VLEO SATELLITE TO ENABLE PRECISE ORBITAL MODELLING AND SYSTEM SIZING (ARTES AT 3E.026) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop high fidelity models to allow the mission design of satcom constellations in VLEO. An in-orbit experiment will be designed and manufactured to measure key geographically and time dependent atmospheric parameters (density, radiation, ionospheric, chemical composition etc..) as well as satellite flight parameters (including drag, solar cells efficiency, etc..). These measurements will enable the precis…
BEAM FORMING CHIP FOR DIRECT RADIATING ARRAY ANTENNAS FOR W-BAND FEEDER LINKS (ARTES AT 5C.457) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test an engineering model of a beam forming network chip to support direct radiating array antennas in W-band for future receive chain feeder links in ultra-high throughput satellite telecommunication payloads.Targeted Improvements: Enabling technology for reconfigurable antennas in W-band for ultra-high-throughput satellite feederlinks (at least 1 Tbit/s throughput) not existing tod…
POWER MODULE FOR AUTONOMOUS SATELLITES (ARTES AT 4F.095)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a power module that will be integrated in an autonomous spacecraftarchitecture.Targeted Improvements:Increase the level of onboard autonomy by 50% at overall platform level.Description: Current satellite operations require human intervention from ground, resulting in considerable inefficiencies and dependencies on communication window frequency, latency, and available resources,…
SOFTWARE DEFINED NETWORKING-BASED SOLUTIONS FOR EFFICIENT DISTRIBUTED DENIAL OF SERVICES PROTECTION OF 5G NON TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.027)
The objective of this activity is to identify+ develop and test Software Defined Networking (SDN) based solutions for 5G Core Network (CN)+ capable of addressing efficiently and effectively Distributed Denial of Services (DDoS) attacks against 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks. This activity will develop a testbed of SDN implementation for 5G CN to test protection mechanisms against various attack scenarios for relevant 5G NTN use cases+ and study t…
FAST LOCKING FLANGE FOR WAVEGUIDE CONNECTIONS (ARTES AT 6B.094) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test a device that will enable fast (almost instantaneous) connection of two waveguides eliminating need for laborious removal and reinstallation of numerous nuts and bolts from the waveguide flanges. The connection achieved with this assembly shall demonstrate high reliability both in mechanical and electrical aspects and minimise the risk of assembly error. Targeted Improvements:- 95%…
500 AMPERE CLASS POWER UNIT FOR ONBOARD PAYLOAD SIGNAL PROCESSING HARDWARE IN COMMUNICATION SATELLITES (ARTES AT 5C.516)
The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test a 500A class power unit capable of supplying DC power for both large on-board and AI processors for use in communication satellites.Targeted Improvements: Improved current supply capability of voltage regulators by a factor of ten enabling the use of high performance AI processors (GPUs and TPUs) in future telecom satellites.Description: Artificial Intelligence (AI) processors,…
ZERO-TRUST ARCHITECTURE FOR LOW EARTH ORBIT REGENERATIVE PAYLOADS ( ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.029)
The objective of this activity is to design+ implement+ and validate a zero-trust architecture for a Low Earth Orbit regenerative 5G gNodeB+ that mitigates the security risks specific to 5G Non-Terrestrial Networks.
SOLAR ARRAY TO POWER DIRECTLY AN ELECTRICAL PROPULSION SYSTEM (ARTES AT 4F.163) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test coupons to pave the way for high-power, high-voltage solar arrays (e.g., 300 Vplus) feeding directly electric propulsion systems. Targeted Improvements:- Increased solar array output voltage from 100V to at least 300V for high power solar arrays.- Enabling direct feed of solar array power to electrical propulsion systems. Description: Inorder to feed power generated by solar arrays directly…
SPARSE TRANSMIT KA-BAND ACTIVE PHASED ARRAYS FOR GROUND TERMINALS CONNECTED WITH SATELLITES IN DIFFERENT ORBITS (ARTES AT 7A.077)
The objective of this activity is to develop and test a Ka-band sparse active transmit antenna breadboard and associated beamforming network for ground terminals to be connected with satellites in orbits ranging from geostationary orbits to low earth orbit orbits. Targeted Improvements: - 25% reduction in the number of active controls.- 5% increase in the DC-to-RF power efficiency at antenna level, due to the reduced exploitation of amplitude…
HIGH EFFICIENCY SILICON-BASED AMPLIFIER FOR KA-BAND USER TERMINALS (ARTES AT 7B.067) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test Ka-band high efficiency amplifier monolithic microwave integratedcircuit (MMIC) based on silicon technology for user terminals. Targeted Improvements:- Amplifier power added efficiency above 30% with a noise power ratio of 15 dB minimum- Key building block for future highly integrated Ka-band user terminal active antennas. Description:The satcom market requires highly integrated…
ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3A.199 RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES FOR JAMMING MITIGATION IN NGSO CONSTELLATIONS
The objective of the activity is to design, develop and test jamming mitigation strategies for NGSO broadband secure systems based on adaptive radio resource management algorithms.
ION THRUSTER GRID IMPEDANCE MEASUREMENT DEVICE FOR IN-FLIGHT THRUSTER HEALTH MONITORING (ARTES AT 4B.182)
The objective of this activity is to extend the thruster lifetime and optimise the operating point of the thruster and to develop afinite element model of the grids system together with the plasma in between to allow health checks.Targeted Improvements:- 20%increase in thruster lifetime.- 20% decrease of grid thruster failure probability (erosion).Description: Telecom platforms couldbenefit from gridded ion thrusters in the near future, but c…
RESILIENT AND SECURE MULTIMEDIA COMMUNICATIONS FROM UNMANNED AERIAL/MARITIME VEHICLES USING MULTIPLE UNRELIABLE NETWORKS (ARTES 4.0 4S SPL 3A.172) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of this activity is the design and demonstration of network protocols that can use multiple unreliable satellite and terrestrial networks for increased resilience and security for retrieval of multimedia data with multiple QoS classes from drones and unmanned maritime vessels. Targeted Improvements: This technique will allow at least 50% increase in the number of UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) that can be supported in the same s…
HIGHLY INTEGRATED TRANSMIT AND RECEIVE DIRECT RADIATING ANTENNA ARRAY BASED ON MM-WAVE SILICON TECHNOLOGIES AND PACKAGING (ARTES AT 5B.241)
The objective of the activity is to develop a highly integrated, scalable Ku or Ka-band TX/RX direct radiating array, for versatileconnectivity missions in low earth orbit. Critical breadboarding will be carried out, levering the advances in Mm-wave silicon technologies and advanced packaging techniques to achieve a high degree of integration. Targeted Improvements: Enabling highly integrated combined transmit and receive active antenna with a…
PRECODING FOR LOW EARTH ORBIT SATELLITE SYSTEMS (ARTES AT 3C.027) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST) - EXPRO+
The objective of the activity is to develop precoding techniques for the forward link of multi-beam LEO satellite systems operatingin full frequency reuse. The activity will target the conventional single-satellite precoding, as well as precoding across adjacentsatellites having beams with overlapping footprints. The developed techniques will be implemented and tested in a software simulator able to assess the performance at both link level an…
SINGLE-PIECE-PART W-BAND PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA INCLUDING THE PASSIVE RF FRONT-END (ARTES AT 5B.239)
The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test a W-band/E-band phased array antenna including the passive RF front-end taking advantage of additive and hybrid manufacturing techniques in order to reduce its complexity and mass compared to conventional subtractive techniquesTargeted Improvements: 30% mass reduction, removing screws and assembly interfaces.Description: With the multiplication of broadband communication satelli…
EUROPEAN CHIP INDUCTOR FOR POINT OF LOAD CONVERTERS IN TELECOMMUNICATION SATELLITES (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.499)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test surface mount chip inductors enabling low voltage (down to 0.8 V range) stability, fast transient response, high-speed switching capability and efficient power conversion of point of load(POL) converters, as needed for next generation digital integrated circuits in telecommunication satellites.Targeted Improvements:- Enablinga European source.- 20% mass and volume reduction and 2…
MULTIFUNCTIONAL HINGE FOR LARGE ON-BOARD DIRECT SATELLITE-TO-DEVICE ACTIVE ANTENNA ARRAYS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 4E.093)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a multifunctional hinge technology to accommodate a large multi panel active antenna array on a spacecraft platform, with integrated sensing to avoid adverse local deflections due to spacecraft dynamics.Targeted Improvements:Enabling technology for very large active antennas with disperse panels to be accommodated on a spacecraft platformfor future 5G/6G (direct to handheld) satellitesDescri…