The objective of this activity is to design, develop, test in a lab environment and over representative conditions a multi-constellation broadband UAV terminal prototype, i.e. a fixed-wing UAV terminal prototype including modem and RF front-end, that transmits via multiple beams towards multiple satellite orbits (GSO or NGSO) high data rate payload data to both commercial and governmental frequency bands.

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 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…

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 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…

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…

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…

The objective of this activity is to design, manufacture and test two breadboards corresponding to a reconfigurable 4-channel 30 GHz low power Combiner Frequency Multiplexer (CMUX) and a 4-channel 20 GHz low power frequency Demultiplexer (DMUX). Targeted Improvements: Replacement of conventional fixed-bandwidth CMUX and DMUX equipment with a tuneable solution capable of supporting agile traffic management.Description: Current broadband satelli…

The objective of the activity is to produce a software development environment able to configure and build the full avionics software of a satcom using a model-based approachTargeted Improvements:- Reduction of up to 50% of the development time of the avionics system functions,- Enable one avionic platform to support many missions while being fully reconfigurable in flight.Description:The availability of System-on-Chip, powerful micro-control…

ESA will support an initiative to define a future amateur satellite payload in geostationary orbit. ESA proposes that this activitywill be implemented by a combination of collaborative internal, industrial, and amateur efforts, all within the financial envelope as indicated. The activity shall consolidate requirements from the amateur and commercial satellite industry, trade-off several payload options, address the future user segment, develop…

The objective of the activity is to develop, manufacture and test a cathode for use as a neutraliser in electric propulsion systemsand suitable for operation in an oxygen-rich environment for a long duration of time (e.g. >5 years).Targeted Improvements:Enabling cathode capable of operating in an oxygen-rich environment for more than a few hours.Description: Platforms operating in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) require prolonged and/or continu…

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test an engineering model of a standalone subsystem that will collect telemetry and command logs. In the event of mission failure the device will communicate this to the mission operations team to improve the speed and depth of understanding behind the root-cause of the mission failure. Targeted Improvements: Enabling higher operational reliability of nano- and microsatellites by impr…

The objective of the activity is to develop a digital model of a high voltage module typically used in power processing units for electric propulsion or travelling wave tube amplifiers. This model or "digital twin" shall enable an in-depth evaluation which is today only possible by test.Targeted Improvements: Enabling a new approach to achieve innovation acceleration of high voltage module design and test, leading to:- decrease of th…

The objective of the activity is to develop and test a cyber-physical modelling for a Digital Twin of AOCS sensors. A multi-physic model-based Digital Twin can be used to perform on-board self-calibration employing data-driven techniques and simplify the ground verification of new satellite platforms by having a direct dispersion of the different parameters, hence reducing complex Monte Carlodispersions. Targeted Improvements: Enabling on-boar…

The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test enabling technologies for multi-frequency transmit active antennas. This will include antenna radiating elements, beamforming techniques (analogue vs hybrid), active elements customised in order to cover both the Ku and Ka transmit frequency bands, integrated into a breadboard. Targeted Improvements: Enabling dual Ku and Ka-band transmit active phased arrays. Description: Active ant…

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…

The objective of the activity is to develop, implement and test a breadboard of a digital transceiver front-end capable of switching between access and backhaul modes of operation for integrated satcom-terrestrial 5G/6G networks. The transceiver core shall be supported by an AI/ML engine implemented for a set of commercially available hardware and software platforms. The activity shall also provide the testbed to test the AI/ML-based transceiv…

The objective of the activity is to design, manufacture and test an engineering model of a multi-band (Ku and Ka-band) integrated power amplifier for application in Lower Earth Orbit satellites, enabling seamless flexibility and reconfigurability for active antenna arrays. Targeted Improvements: Enabling technology for seamless Ku- and Ka-band flexible payloads:- reduces mass and volume by 50%,- improves reliability, bill of material and quali…

The objective of the activity is to develop a breadboard of a flexible pivot a with large range of rotation angle (goal90 degrees),which features a hollow inner shaft to route an optical beam for optical communications or cables/waveguide in other applications.Targeted Improvements:One order of magnitude improvement in operating lifetime of coarse pointing mechanisms in optical communication terminals compared to ball bearing mechanisms, and a…

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…

The objective of the activity is to test electrical insulation methods to replace reliable electrical insulation by reliable simpleelectrical insulation and to provide inputs to guidelines to ECSS-E-ST-20C Rev2.Targeted Improvements:Mass, volume, manufacturing time reduced by a factor of 2 compared to current reliable insulation technologies.Description: Double insulation rules lead tooversize electrical architectures to make them robust to s…

The objective of the activity is to investigate and develop spectrum reuse and sharing techniques for integrated NTN-TN 3D networksthat allow them to pool, share, and rapidly reallocate spectrum on demand among their heterogeneous components/segments. The techniques will be prototyped in a testbed to be implemented as part of the activity.Targeted improvements:Enabling spectrum reuse and sharing in integrated NTN-NT 3D networks.Description:Spe…

Objective: This activity aims at developing a modular software tool allowing to simulate the improvement from employing adaptive optics (AO) systems in bidirectional optical ground station (OGS) to satellites optical communication and quantum links scenarios (e.g. GEO, LEO, MEO). Targeted Improvements: 50% improvement of design time and computation time to dimension optical communication systems operating through atmospheric turbulence enhance…

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…

Objective: The objective of this activity is to design, develop and test a 5G system to support upper layer Access Traffic Switching, Steering and Splitting (ATSSS) mechanisms relating a User Equipment (UE) data session across dual terrestrial and satellite 5G access, as well as over dual 5G satellite access.Targeted Improvements:- Enable dual 3GPP access- Significant part reduction - Network and device centric system- Enable 5G Core Network w…