Objective: The objective is to design, implement and test the IP Cores of the receiver for the coding and synchronisation layer of the two CCSDS telemetry waveforms for optical communications. Targeted Improvements: New market opportunities for optical terminal and equipment manufacturers, addressing both photon-starved links up to 8Gbps and high data rate links up to 10Gbps. This activity will target to reduce by 50% the development costs in…

The objective of this activity is to enable rapid delivery of small proof-of-concepts and technical investigations that are addressing emerging cybersecurity challenges in the field of cybersecurity for satcom systems.Procurement Policy: C(2) = A relevant participation (in terms of quality and quantity) of non-primes (incl. SMEs) is required. For additional information please go to:…

The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test a 100W W-band waveguide high power isolator engineering model forfeeder link applications.Targeted Improvements: Enabling technology development for W-band feeder links not existing today in ESAMember States.Description: The usage of the spectrum available in W-band for satellite communications offers the opportunity to reduce the number of gateways in the ground segment. For su…

Objective: The objective of the activity is to design, implement and test a scaled engineering model with critical functions of a multi-beam receive antenna for satellite-based air traffic surveillance in the frequency range 950 - 1100 MHz, taking into account narrow beamwidth, directivity and mechanical constraints. Targeted Improvements:- Two-fold increase, compared to the state of the art, in the number of beams covering the visible Earth (…

The objective of the activity is to develop and test a configurable execution environment for an intelligent platform data handlingsystemTargeted Improvements:- 30% improvement of the performance of autonomous applications.- 50% reduction of the applicationsoftware integration and validation efforts.Description: The increase of processing power onboard spacecrafts will allow the implementation of intelligent functionalities such as early fail…

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…

The objective is to develop, embark and carry out an in-orbit experiment to investigate the performance of specific air interfaces over very low frequencies (in the 24 to 72 MHz range) for very low data rate (Internet of Things (IoT), emergency paging etc) from satellite to ground and vice versa. This experiment will include the channel characterisation (including space weather effects) and communication performance assessment in outdoor and i…

The objective of the activity is to develop and test data, control and signalling protocols to enable spectrum sharing among co-existing satellite Internet-of-Things (IoT) networks for new frequency allocations (i.e. below 5 GHz according to resolution 812 WRC 2019) that are on the agenda of the World Radio-Communication Conference (WRC) in 2027. The activity will include a measurement campaign to quantify the interference environment using ex…

Objective: Power efficient 75W class solid state power amplifier module for active antenna applicationsTargeted Improvements: - Reduced mass and volume by more than 50% compared to travel wave tube amplifiers.- Increased power efficiency by 20% in comparison to current state of art, reaching at least 40% PAE at the nominal operation point in Ku-band or 35% in Ka-bandDescription: Satellite telecommunication systems have experienced an evolution…

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…

The objective of this activity is the design, development and test of a more energy efficient receiver hardware architecture at system level. The activity shall include the investigation of more efficient receiver hardware design, use of narrower time slices and waveforms aimed at reducing demodulator complexity and produce a breadboard prototype.Targeted Improvements:50% energy reduction in receivers in TV broadcast and broadband user termina…

The objective of this activity is to design, develop and validate a system architecture and suitable waveform for an Aeronautical Mobile-Satellite (Route) Services (AMS(R)S) constellation in C-band for safety and security services.

Objective: The objective of the activity is to develop and test NGSO networking techniques for 5G V2X services. The developments will be implemented and verified in a simulator modelling realistic system scenarios of 5G LEO satellites. Targeted Improvements: Enabling the provision of 5G V2X services by satellite. Description:Due to their low altitudes, LEO satellite systems may offer low-latency 5G connectivity that, paired with on-board edge…

The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test a power module with a new concept for Li-Ion battery management and with an advanced Electrical Power System Telemetry able to collect, store, retrieve and process large quantity of data related tothe Status of the Power System (SA, Battery, PCDU). A digital oscilloscope for the Built-In Test function and a function to analysein flight the degradation of solar arrays will be imp…

Development of tools and hardware and the execution of a measurement campaign for background light and atmosphere conditions for Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) at urban location (major cities and metropolitan areas) under ARTES 4.0 Space Systems for Safety and Security (4S) Strategic Programme Line. These measurement results are an important check point to validate the design of the SAGA system. The background light and atmosphere metrology ac…

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…

This Call for Proposals covers the industry initiated activities for the four Programmes lines identified below:ARTES Core Competitiveness Generic ProgrammeLine- Component B: Competitiveness GrowthARTES Strategic Programme Line Space for 5G/6G and Sustainable Connectivity ARTES Strategic Programme Line Space Systems for Safety and Security (4S)ARTES Strategic Programme Line Optical and Quantum Communication - ScyLight. The participating state…

This Call for Proposals covers the industry initiated activities for the Civil Security for Space programme.

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 states to participate in the programme. It will…

The objective of this activity is to develop an integrated structural antenna concept for high aspect ratio satellites. The antenna concept shall be frequency and size scalable. Critical breadboarding shall be carried out to evaluate the concept for mobile satellite communication systems in Low Earth Orbit. Targeted Improvements: Enabling stackable satellites with efficient launch volume occupation with an improvement of 30% in comparison to e…

The objective of this activity is to develop a testbed that allows the demonstration of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) 5G services viasatellite. Using existing satellite assets and on-ground antenna for mobile applications (not necessarily aesthetically attractive), the test bed shall address both forward and return link traffic, to support the definition of future V2X applications and associated technical enhancements. The set of services to be…

The objective of this activity is to develop and evaluate efficient digital beamforming algorithms and techniques that are compatible with non-uniform antenna arrays or non-uniform beam lattices. The developed techniques will be implemented and evaluated on a representative processor test bed. Targeted Improvements: 30 to 70% power reduction on the implementation of digital beamforming algorithms with non-uniform input/outputs with respect to…

The objective of this activity is to implement and test the signal processing portion of a 5G LEO satellite payload capable of handling several high throughput beams assuming an active antenna configuration. The demonstrator shall be based on a processor capable of controlling a reconfigurable beam-forming network (BFN) and performing signal (re-)generation andchannelisation of 5G waveforms. Targeted Improvements: Enable 5G regenerative payloa…

Objective: To develop a simulator of optical propagation based on a high-resolution numerical atmospheric simulator, to be used forthe long-term characterisation and the forecast of the signal scintillation and other propagation effects in the area around a ground terminal for Earth-Space optical communication system. Targeted Improvements: Breakthrough to achieve regional optical channel performance assessment; achieve high resolution channel…

The objective of this activity is to form a European consortium and to develop a solar array test approach as needed for the preparation of the ECSS E-20-08 handbook, in the case of a design or process change. The new test approach will be validated by Development Validation Testing (DVT) coupons. Targeted Improvements: Substantial reduction (50%) in the delta-qualification time of solar panels, which deviate slightly from existing qualified d…