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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.
COMPACT TRIBOLOGY-FREE POINTING MECHANISM (ARTES AT 4E.094)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a tribology-free mechanism breadboard for both platform and payload pointing applications on telecom satellites. The lifetime of the developed mechanism shall be assessed, and endurance testing shall be carried out. Targeted Improvements: Enabling a European source of compact, tribology-free pointing mechanisms with no backlash or friction hysteresis effects. Description: Today p…
AUTOMOTIVE S-BAND ANTENNA FOR SATELLITE IOT AND 5G TERRESTRIAL COMMUNICATIONS (ARTES SPL 5G 7C.062) (UPON DELEGATION REQUEST)
Upon Delegation Request (*) The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test an integrated automotive S-band antenna that combines satellite IoT and 5G terrestrial communications. Targeted Improvements: Reduction of antenna form factor from a protruding antenna (e.g. shark fin shape) to planar antenna fully integrated in the car roof. Bandwidth increase from 30 to 90 MHz for satellite and 5G communications. Description: The In…
CHANNEL ESTIMATION AND ADAPTATION TECHNIQUES FOR Q/V BAND FEEDER LINKS OF LEO/MEO CONSTELLATION (ARTES AT 3B.048)
The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test channel estimation and adaptation techniques as needed for Q/V band feeder links of LEO/MEO constellation with regenerative on-board processors. An end-to-end system testbed will be developed that includes varying channel, antenna and hardware impairments in the downlink and uplink depending on the elevation angle. The testbed will include the baseband, analogue and RF domain to tes…
HIGH EFFICIENCY Q-BAND POWER AMPLIFIER MONOLITHIC MICROWAVE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT FOR ACTIVE ANTENNAS (ARTES AT 5B.238)
The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a set of highly efficient (minimum 25% power added efficiency) Q-band Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits (MMIC) for active antenna applications in GEO, MEO and LEO. The packaged devices will be based on European technology covering the 10 Watt power class (GEO) down to a few 100mWs for LEO applications. Targeted Improvements: Enabling critical building block technology deve…
ROLLABLE AND DEPLOYABLE REFLECT-TRANSMIT ARRAY ANTENNAS (ARTES AT 5B.237)
Objective: The objective is to develop, manufacture and test a breadboard of a lightweight, rollable, passive reflect-array or transmit-array deployed antenna. This shall operate at L- or Sband and have an aperture area of at least 5 square metre.Targeted Improvements: Enabling technology for large aperture deployable antennas based on a simple, reliable and robust mechanical deployment scheme, not existing today in ESA member states.Descripti…
ARTES 4.0 SPL OPTICAL COMMUNICATION - SCYLIGHT: INTEGRATED OPTICAL INTERFACES FOR RF PHASED ARRAY ANTENNAS (5F.013 / SL.030)
Objective:The objective of the activity is to analyse and demonstrate the benefits of replacing coaxial cables/waveguides with fibre optics in large RF phased array antennas. The activity shall identify the best technologies to be employed and it will design, manufacture and test 2 breadboard demonstrators covering both analogue and digital transmission.Targeted Improvements:Order of magnitude mass and volume reduction by substituting the pass…
FACETED RECONFIGURABLE REFLECTOR BASED ON REFLECT ARRAY TECHNOLOGY (ARTES AT 5B.242)
The objective of this activity to design, manufacture and test a Ku- or Ka-band faceted reconfigurable reflect array operating in receive band for reconfigurable coverage applications. RF and thermo-elastic performance shall be experimentally evaluated.TargetedImprovements: - Reduction up to 20% the reflector aperture diameter in comparison to today's shape reflector technology.- Improvement of the directivity performance at the edge of t…
5G AUTOMOTIVE ANTENNA PROTOTYPE AND DEMONSTRATION (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 7C.084)
The objective is to design and demonstrate a new class of low-profile and conformal antennas, providing seamless connectivity for 5G services on vehicles.Targeted Improvements:Enabling technology Satellite antennas compatible with the constrains of the automotive markets (in terms of aesthetics, aerodynamics and safety), whilst providing seamless connectivity, are currently not available.Description:The automotive sector is a crucial target gr…
5G NEW RADIO (NR) NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS RELEASE 18 PROTOCOL STACK ENHANCEMENTS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.011)
The objective of this activity is to develop the software protocol stack for Release 18 enhancements related to 5G New for Radio (NR) for Non-Terrestrial Networks. The software protocol stack development shall be based on a testbed considering both the User Equipment (UE) and g-NodeB (gNB) features and operational procedures.Targeted Improvements:Enable 5G NR NTN system performance simulations with the latest Release 18 modifications.Descripti…
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…
INVISIBLE PHASED ARRAY ANTENNA TO PROVIDE BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY ON BOARD CARS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 7C.094)
Objective: 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 connectivity with LEO satellites. Description: There is today a significant interest to provide broadband connectivity to cars. This request is associated to the need to guarantee emerg…
CYBERSECURITY AUDITING SUITCASE FOR SATELLITE COMMUNICATION NETWORKS ( ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 3D.024)
The objective of the activity is to design, develop and test in a representative environment a portable auditing tool prototype to assess VSAT networks security from the wireless interface.
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…
EARTH UPPER ATMOSPHERE FORECAST TOOL FOR MISSION DESIGN AND OPERATION (ARTES 4.0 AT 4C.066)
The objective is to develop a multi-model informed predictive tool of atmospheric parameter variability for mission design and operation.Targeted Improvements:- Enabling a new European tool allowing prediction of atmospheric conditions (e.g., density, composition, radiation) over time, including local state and total dose.- To reduce initial mission design margins hence avoiding overdesign.Description: The recent loss of several communication…
END-TO-END DEMONSTRATION OF 5G NEW RADIO (NR) FOR FUTURE RAILWAY MOBILE COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 7C.086)
The objective of this activity is to develop the necessary 5G New Radio (NR) ground segment prototypes for servicing the Future Railway Mobile Communication System (FRMCS) via satellite and demonstrate the capability with end-to-end in orbit testing.Targeted improvements:Ensure compliance to the FRMCS safety and performance requirements by demonstrating the feasibility of servicing via a satellite link, complementing the terrestrial network. P…
IN-ORBIT DEMONSTRATION OF A NARROW BAND INTERNET OF THINGS (NB-IOT) INTER-SATELLITE DATA RELAY (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3E.023)
The objective of this activity is to proof that a standardised existing solution such as NB-IOT can be used for satellite-to-satellite low data rate communications. Targeted Improvements: Introduce world's first standardised intersatellite data relay solution based on 3GPP NTN standards, opening up a new market for new companies and telecom operators toprovide data solutions to Earth Observation missions via intersatellite data relay. Des…
AGILE ULTRA HIGH FREQUENCY (UHF) TO KU-BAND TRANSCEIVER FOR COMMUNICATIONS IN CRISIS SITUATIONS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 4S 7C.092)
The objective of this activity is to design and develop a UHF/Ku transceiver prototype for communications used by governmental users (i.e.+ first responders) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) within an area of crisis+ compatible with all Ku-band service providers.
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…
MODEL-BASED APPROACH FOR SOFTWARE DEFINED PAYLOAD APPLICATIONS (ARTES AT 5A.089)
The objective of the activity is to design, develop and test key building blocks for software defined payloads using a model-based approach. At least six building blocks implementing telecommunication application functions (e.g. signal processing, signal filtering, encryption, compression, etc.) shall be developed. At least two use case applications shall be developed, and the performance tested to validate the approach.Targeted Improvements:…
W-BAND HIGH POWER AMPLIFIER FOR THE GROUND SEGMENT (ARTES AT 6B.120) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
Objective: The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test a W-band HPA for the ground segment. Targeted Improvements: Enabling W-band feeder uplink communications. Description: The use of W-band (71-76 GHz for downlink and 81-86 for uplink GHz) is expected to significantly increase the available bandwidth for Very High Throughput Satellite Systems (VHTS). W-band spectrum is also expected to reduce the number of gateways requi…
5G NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORK SECURE TWO-WAY RANGING FOR LEO SATELLITES (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.022)
Study, design and validate a secure two-way ranging protocol relying on 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) in LEO.Targeted Improvements:Enable secure two-way ranging via future LEO 5G satcom services for target applications such as IoT sensors.Description:All GNSS systems are principally based on one-way ranging and as such they are fundamentally vulnerable to spoofing and/or meaconing attacks, even in the presence of GNSS security mechanisms su…
ASSESSMENT OF 5G NON-TERRESTRIAL NETWORKS (NTN) WITH SUB-6GHZ TIME DIVISION DUPLEXING (TDD) COMMUNICATIONS (ARTES 4.0 SPL 5G/6G 3F.017)
The objective is to carry out an assessment of the NTN deployment of the 5G NR air interface in TDD mode and identification of technology gaps and constraints. Develop a software testbed implementing and testing the scenario.Improve the overall spectrum utilisation by up to 50% when using Time Division Duplex communication as per 3GPP standard.The 3GPP has specified for Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) the n255 and n256 bands, both operating in…
DVB ENERGY SAVING DELIVERY OF CONTENT (ARTES AT 3A.201)
Objective: The objective of the activity is to design, develop and test protocols and system level approaches for energy saving video content distribution in satellite telecommunication networks. A testbed will be developed to evaluate the energy savings achievedin real networks considering the different video codecs, air interfaces and video quality. The output shall be available to the DVBstandardisation EADC (Energy Aware Delivery and Consu…
IN-ORBIT W-BAND CHANNEL CHARACTERISATION FROM GEOSTATIONARY ORBIT (ARTES AT 3E.018) (ON DELEGATION REQUEST)
The objective of the activity is to carry out characterisation of the W-band channel affected by diurnal and long duration atmospheric changes, enabling future W-band system sizing. The activity will design, develop and test a W-band terminal hosted on a geostationary Earth orbit (GEO) spacecraft, and the associated ground terminals. Targeted Improvements:Increase in the acquisition time of W-band channel measurements for stable atmospheric pa…
FREQUENCY COORDINATION DEMONSTRATOR FOR NON-GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITE SYSTEMS (ARTES AT 3A.153) (RE-ISSUE OF ITT 1-11179)
The objective of the activity is to develop and test a demonstrator of a frequency coordination system that manages access to spectrum among different non-geostationary satellite systems. The concept will be implemented and tested as a real-time emulator to be developed as part of the activity.Targeted improvements: Improving the achievable throughput by 50% with respect to partitioning the frequency band.Description:The increasing number of c…