Description
Objective:To design, develop and cross validate independent test beds to emulate and demonstrate the safety of future telecommunication constellations.
Targeted Improvements:Validating the safety of future telecommunication constellations is a requirement for Member States who might grant launch and operations licenses for such space projects. This test bed aims at easing this process and thus help future telecommunication constellations to become a reality and also support Member States in their objective of making sustainable use of space.
Description:Under international space law, Nations are responsible for the lawful conduct of all space activities, and countries can be held liable for the damage caused by space objects for which they are considered the launching State. Launching States remain liable for a space object for its entire functional lifetime and beyond.
Any telecommunication constellation has to obtain authorisation from one or more States before being deployed in orbit. The States granting such authorisation need to verify the safety and reliability of these (typically private) space projects using reliable tools that can emulate and demonstrate the safety of such systems with high degree of confidence. These tools need to simulate realistic operational conditions, including consideration of other space objects in the same or different orbits. Such demonstration would also reassure the wider space community that the space environment would be preserved for sustainable use. This activity aims at providing those support means.
The activity will develop and validate at least 2 independently designed and reliable test beds to assess the safety of telecommunication constellations with high degree of confidence in realistic and representative environments. The test beds will consider all operational phases of the projects, including launch, orbit transfer, nominal manual or automatic operations, and end-of-life disposal. As the reliability and confidence of the assessments of a test bed is greatly dependant on its validation and the complexity of the underlying modelling, the cross-validation between independent developments is mandatory to properly validate the results.
The test bedsshall emulate all the elements affecting the safety of telecommunication constellations (e.g. reliability of critical functions, operations, orbit raising, re-entry triggering, re-entry trajectory, space situational awareness, collision avoidance manoeuvres, on-board and on-ground automation, satellite life extension, etc.). The test beds shall be able to support manufacturers to test and validate the systems concept of operations pursuant to obtaining the required authorisations.
The test beds will include all the necessary elements and meet the required quality standards to serve as a reference that can be trusted by licensing States and the space community and thus allow to demonstrate the safety of any future system.
Procurement Policy: C(1) = Activity restricted to non-primecontractors (incl. SMEs). For additional information please go to EMITS news "Industrial Policy measures for non-primes, SMEs and RD entities in ESA programmes".
Tender Specifics