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.

  • 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%…

  • 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,…

  • HANDOVER, DATA ROUTING AND RADIO RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT (VLEO) BROADBAND CONSTELLATIONS (ARTES 4.0 AT 3C.043)

    The objective of this activity is to develop and test handover, data routing and radio resource management techniques for a broadband satellite constellation in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The techniques will be implemented, and their performance assessed in a software system testbed. Targeted Improvements:Enabling system techniques for VLEO broadband systems not existing today in ESA member states.Description: The VLEO orbit is now the centr…

  • MASS PRODUCTION THRUSTER TESTING TECHNOLOGY (ARTES AT 4B.175) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)

    The objective of the activity is to develop a concept for efficient testing of thrusters for large constellations that reduces the test-setup complexity and test duration by an order of magnitude. The concept shall be implemented and experimentally validated in ascalable testbed for high volume testing of the electric propulsion systems. Targeted Improvements: Increase the number of electricthrusters (minimum of 4 to 8) to be tested simultaneo…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • 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,…

  • ADAPTIVE THERMAL CONTROL OF TELECOM SATELLITES (ARTES 4.0 AT 4D.082) (RE-ISSUE)

    The objective of the activity is to develop and test a breadboard of an electrophoretic panel enabling adaptive thermal control on telecommunication spacecraft. Targeted Improvements:-Enabling technology to allow adaptive control of radiative surfaces.-Reduction in heater power of 40% and in radiator size of 30%. Description: Traditional thermal design balances emissivity and absorption parameters based on surface materials and/or coatings sel…

  • LESS THAN ONE WATT STANDBY ON-OFF POWER SWITCHING FRONT END FOR TELECOM UNITS (ARTES 4.0 AT 4F.164)

    The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test an on-off power switching front end for all platform units, consuming less than 1W when set in standby mode and capable to turn on the unit power converter with a command sent over the power bus.Targeted Improvements:- Reduction of 15% of the platform harness mass, of the AIT operations.- Reduction of the unit mass by 10% and of platform dissipation by 30%-50%.- Simplification o…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • HIGHLY EFFICIENT 20 W S-BAND AMPLIFIER FOR 5G-CONNECTED CARS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 7C.082)

    The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a highly efficient 20 W S-band Power Amplifier.Targeted Improvements:Efficiency higher than 70% - enabling technology for S-Band automotive applications.Description:Recent studies have shown the potential of satellite communications for 5G-connected cars. Although various frequency bands may be envisaged, the S-band can offer a simple systems architecture as well as a satisfactor…

  • 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…

  • MULTI-PURPOSE QUANTUM KEY DISTRIBUTION RECEIVER FOR OPTICAL GROUND STATIONS (ARTES 4.0 4S SPL 3D.013)

    Objective: the objective of the activity is the development and testing of a multi-purpose ground Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Optical Receiver including a compact decoding set-up for secure key material generation. Key output is the standardization of interfaces a) from the telescope of the optical ground station and b) to the customer key management system.Targeted Improvements: The main target improvement of this activity is the optimisa…

  • 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…

  • EXTENSION OF ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEM VOLTAGE TO 300V (ARTES AT 4F.146) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)

    The objective of the activity is to identify, design, manufacture and test critical technology and hardware elements needed for a high voltage electric power system (EPS) for high power telecom applications. This shall include typical primary and secondary DCDC converters and protection circuits (e.g. latching current limiters). Targeted Improvements:- Increase bus voltage up to > 300V, enabling direct drive for electric propulsion;- Reduce…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • CATHODELESS ELECTRIC PROPULSION THRUSTER (ARTES 4.0 AT 4B.173)

    The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test an electric propulsion thruster that does not require a neutraliser to operate nominally with a minimum of 25% of thrust efficiency (based on operation with air as the propellant).Targeted Improvements:Increase thrust efficiency by more than 50% to reach a minimum of 25%.Description: Traditional Electric Propulsion (EP) technologies make use of an electron emitter, or cathode, t…

  • VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT SYSTEM SIMULATOR FOR DIRECT SATELLITE-TO-DEVICE 5G/6G COMMUNICATIONS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.019)

    Objective: The objective of the activity is to develop and test a system simulator testbed capable of modelling and assessing the performance of communication satellite constellations operating in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). This includes the assessment of the emerging waveforms (5G NTN, European Protected Waveform).Targeted Improvements: Enable the design and assess the constellation system performance of communication satellites operating i…

  • CRITICAL BREADBOARDING ENABLING THE REMOVAL OF FAILED SMALL SATELLITES FROM LOW EARTH ORBIT (ARTES AT 4A.085) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)

    The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test technologies enabling the removal of failed small satellites (e.g.tumbling) from low earth orbit. Several breadboards will be developed and tested to reduce tumbling and to enable rendezvous and capture.Targeted Improvements: Enabling de-orbiting of large constellations of low Earth orbit telecommunication satellites. Description: In the coming years it is expected that the numbe…

  • SPIN-IN OF SLIPRING TECHNOLOGY FOR SATCOM APPLICATIONS (ARTES AT 4E.096)

    The objective of the activity is to select an off the shelf European slipring technology for terrestrial applications and demonstrate its suitability for Satcom applicationTargeted Improvements: Improving by 20% of power density, lifetime, mass, volume, and lead time.Description: Solar Array Drive Mechanism (SADM) require complex slip-ring technology often leading to long delivery times. However, slipring technologies for terrestrial applicati…

  • ON-CHIP ACTIVE RECONFIGURABLE FILTERS FOR 5G PHASED ARRAY ANTENNAS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 7A.076)

    The objective is to develop and test a Ku or Ka band transparent phased array antenna to provide broadband connectivity on board cars. Targeted Improvements: Develop a new class of phased array antennas for cars able to guarantee a seamless broadband connectivitywith LEO satellites. Description: There is today a significant interest to provide broadband connectivity to cars. This request is associated to the need to guarantee emergency service…

  • SPACEBORNE W-BAND HIGH POWER TRAVELLING WAVE TUBE (ARTES AT 5C.486) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)

    The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test a breadboard of high-power W-band travelling wave tube (TWT) to meet the requirements of Very High Throughput Satellites.Targeted Improvements:Enable a European source of W-band TWT with 5 GHz instantaneous bandwidth, 100 W power output and at least 30% efficiency.Description:High Throughput Satellites (HTS) and Very High Throughput Satellites (VHTS) already use Q/V band frequencies…

  • IMPLEMENTATION OF SOFTWARE MITIGATION SOLUTIONS FOR RADIATION-INDUCED SINGLE EVENT EFFECTS (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.490) - RE-ISSUE OF ITT 1-11734

    The objective of the activity is to de-risk software mitigation techniques for radiation effects on a family of high-performance processors embedded in System on Chip (SoC) components. The activity will identify, on one or more processors of interest for the industry, radiation-induced failure modes and will implement appropriate software mitigation techniques with reuse or development of small FPGA IPs if needed. Targeted Improvements: Enable…