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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.
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…
PIONEER PARTNERSHIP PROJECTS (PIONEER 4.0) - OPEN CALL FOR PROPOSAL
The Pioneer programme, implemented under the ARTES 4.0 Generic Programme Line "Partnership Projects", aims to supports the emergence of Space Mission Providers (SMPs), i.e. commercial entities interested in becoming one-stop-shop service providers for public and private customers. The Open Call for proposals is aimed to offer the opportunity for new companies from across all ESA member statesto participate in the programme. It will b…
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…
ARTES 4.0 SPL OPTICAL COMMUNICATION - SCYLIGHT: RF AND OPTICAL HYBRID GATEWAY ANTENNA (6C.002/SL.024)(ON DELEGATION REQUEST) - EXPRO PLUS
Objective:The objective of this activity is to investigate a telecom gateway antenna able to work simultaneously in both the RF (Ka- Q/V-Band) and optical wavelengths.Targeted Improvements:This product is currently not available and it would allow a phased migration from RF communications to optical communications.Description:There is a clear trend in the need to increase bandwidth in order to increase the data rate, within the telecommunicat…
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…
FREE-SPACE COHERENT OPTICAL LINK FOR TIME AND FREQUENCY TRANSFER (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5F.041)
The objective of the activity is to develop and prototype a free-space optical Frequency and Timing transfer solution over a coherent optical link optimised for the use case of linking critical infrastructure and metrology applications.Targeted Improvements:The two parameters to be improved over existing RF-based techniques are time and frequency transfer accuracy (factor 5 to 10 improvement), resistance to interference and robustness of the l…
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…
SECURE SATCOM MODULE IN SUPPORT OF GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM SERVICE DELIVERY AND ROBUSTNESS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3A.196) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to design+ develop and manufacture a ground-based breadboard module allowing existing and auxiliary data from/linked to GNSS services to be securely delivered to their users via satellite communications using a secure protocol.
ARTES 4.0 SPL OPTICAL COMMUNICATION - SCYLIGHT : DEMONSTRATION OF RELIABLE HIGH DATA RATE OPTICAL LINKS UNDER STRONG ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE CONDITIONS (3B.042 / SL.015)
Objective:The objective of this activity is to demonstrate reliable high data rate optical transmission through the atmosphere (>100Gbps) in a scenario representative (in terms of link attenuation and optical turbulence) of an optical link between a telecom satellite and an Optical Ground Station for elevation angles down to 5deg. Targeted Improvements:Improve the service quality and availability of high data rate optical links through the…
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…
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…
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…
ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE EFFECT MITIGATION BY SECONDARY MIRROR ACTUATION (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 6C.020)
Objective: The objective of this activity is to simplify optical feeder links systems in Optical Ground Stations by replacing the secondary mirror with an active (deformable) one and to demonstrate the improvement in transmission budget and complexity. Targeted Improvements: 30% increased optical throughput in optical communication ground stations. 20% reduction of complexity in adaptive optics and beam pre-distortion in feeder-link systems. R…
HIGH POWER AMPLIFIER FOR THE OPTICAL L-BAND (1565 - 1625 NM) (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 5G.043)
The objective of the activity is to develop an elegant breadboard of a high-power optical amplifier operating in L-band.TargetedImprovements:Enable access to spectrum in the optical transmission window(s) beyond the conventional C-band.Description:To date amplifiers in the optical L-band generate relatively low output power, which reduces their usefulness for high bandwidth data transmission. The activity will develop technologies to enhance t…
PROTECTION OF SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS GROUND SEGMENT FROM INTERFERENCE/JAMMING INITIATED FROM LEO CONSTELLATION(S) (ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.030)
The objective of the activity is to examine the potential threat of New Space constellations to form a botnet able to generate intentional interference for other communications satellites, and to propose and assess relevant mitigation mechanisms.
CHARACTERISATION OF ATMOSPHERIC TRANSMITTANCE AT WAVELENGTHS TO BE USED IN TERABIT OPTICAL COMMUNICATIONS (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 6C.053)
The objective of the activity is to characterise narrow attenuation lines (due to absorption or scattering) in the optical C-band (and ideally L-band) and to evaluate their effect on the communication performance of terabit-per-second feeder links. The activity will develop a testbed to perform measurements and to compare them against existing models. Targeted Improvements: 100% reliability improvement of terabit per second optical communicati…
SPATIALLY COMBINED 40 W - 60 W Q-BAND SOLID STATE POWER AMPLIFIER (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.494)
The objective of this activity is to develop, manufacture and test a highly efficient Q-band spatial power divider and combiner forapplication in Q-band Solid State Power Amplifiers (SSPA). Experimental performance verification shall be carried out on a 40 - 60 W (nominal operating point) Q-band SSPA breadboard. Targeted Improvements: Improved power added efficiency of 5 - 10% of Q-band SSPAs in comparison to the state of the art. Description:…
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…
ELECTROMECHANICAL MULTILINE THRUSTER SWITCHING UNIT FOR ELECTRIC PROPULSION (ARTES AT 4F.171)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a thruster switching unit facilitating the connection of multiple electric propulsion thrusters to one or more power processing units for redundancy or configuration purposes optimising the system architecture.Targeted Improvements: - Improved efficiency (10% increase with respect to solid state solution).- Increased reliability with respect to a relay-based solution.- Reduced le…
DRAG AND ATOMIC OXYGEN RESISTANT CARBON FIBRE REINFORCED POLYMER FOR VERY LOW EARTH ORBIT TELECOM SATELLITES (ARTES AT 4A.092) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a coating material (e.g. for substrates such as carbon fibre reinforced polymer, polymers, etc) with improved atomic oxygen and drag resistance to be used on the external satellite surfaces for very low Earth orbit applicationsTargeted Improvements:- Enabling technology not existing today; allowing telecommunication satellites with conventional construction materials in much lower orbits tha…
OPTICAL GROUND STATION NETWORK TESTBED (ARTES 4.0 SL SPL 6B.128)
The objective of this activity is to develop an optical ground station network testbed to which parties can connect their ground station and prototype network-related aspects for optical and quantum communications in an operational network environment. Targeted Improvements:Reduction of manual link planning and analysis effort. Testing and simulation capabilities for optical end-to-end data delivery. Description:The objective of this activity…
IMPLEMENTATION OF SOFTWARE MITIGATION SOLUTIONS FOR RADIATION-INDUCED SINGLE EVENT EFFECTS (ARTES 4.0 AT 5C.490)
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…
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…
PROTOCOL FOR 5G INTEGRATED NETWORKS TO ENHANCE RELIABLE POSITIONING (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.024)
The objective of this activity is to design and develop a simulation testbed for secure delivery of assistance data with5G satellite networks to enhance positioning.Targeted Improvements:Foster the use of 5G satellite networks to enhance positioning with ubiquitous, reliable, and secure delivery of assistance data. Enable secure time and frequency synchronisation in existing or future telecommunication infrastructure.Description:Various positi…
L-BAND GALLIUM NITRIDE LOW NOISE AMPLIFIER-BASED RF FRONT-END (ARTES AT 5C.465) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to design a compact L-band RF front-end for telecom applications which is based on a GaN Low NoiseAmplifier (LNA). A breadboard of a GaN microwave monolithic integrated circuit will be developed and tested. The RF front-end including the filtering function shall be modelled.Targeted Improvements: up to 30% mass and volume saving of the RF front-end (LNA and filtering) and 20 dB improvement of the LNA dynamic ra…